By Laurie Bergner
Last week my daughter and her husband had their first child, an adorable baby girl. It is thrilling, a much-wanted child. Of course I’m hoping for her to have a happy, successful life, and I have every reason to think she will. She has two parents in a good marriage, and while not wealthy, they both have solid jobs with benefits as teachers. She’ll have good education, good nutrition and good healthcare.
But what about all those babies born to parents of low income: one-parent families, parents who have to work several jobs with minimum wage just to scrape by? A League of Women Voters program last week explored the growing income gap between the rich and poor in McLean County, and its ramifications on quality of life are broader than you’d think, impacting areas such as education and access to legal aid.
It may come as a surprise to you, as it did to me, that McLean County has a high amount of poverty. For example, 56% of students qualify for reduced school lunches on the basis of income. 56%! And while the numbers for our economy look pretty decent, for families, especially single parent families, the reality is much more grim. Many who are nominally above the federal poverty level of $24,300 for a family of four -or try this: $11,880 for one person – in actuality simply don’t have the money for many basic things. We have to look beyond a home and food, which most people do have, to understand how this may impact people, over and above the huge stress of knowing that a flat tire or broken faucet can put your budget behind. How about families where the parents have to work several jobs, all of which pay minimum wage or close to it, so that they can’t adequately supervise their kids, much less be home to read to them at night, or go to school conferences, or take the to the dentist – if they even have the money to go to the dentist. So many are living in crisis mode; the preventive services, like regular dentist visits, aren’t in the budget, so it’s not until there’s a crisis that services are used.
Many of the most disadvantaged don’t use important legal services because they don’t even know that they have rights regarding the problems they encounter, so it doesn’t occur to them to use an attorney. And of course, if they did think of using an attorney, they wouldn’t have the money for one. Organizations like Prairie State Legal Services do give free legal services for qualifying individuals, people who are the most vulnerable, but they have only 3 attorneys for 3 counties. People of low income have their fair share of legal issues, such as landlord/tenant disputes, orders of protection, domestic violence. Many of these are issues faced by people of all income levels, but without legal protection, they may not get the legal help to adequately defend themselves. Low income can lead to a cycle of more and more difficulties of many kinds. And that leads to children who grow up without the benefits that so many of us take for granted.
I wish every child could have the kind of benefits that my granddaughter will have. In a country like ours, blessed with so much, we should be our brothers keeper. Who knew just how complex that issue actually is?
Laurie Bergner is a clinical psychologist in private practice, working with individual adults, families and couples. She also works with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, helping organize candidates forums, educational programs, and many issues in the field of law and justice. She has received many recognitions in both fields, including YWCA’s Women of Distinction in the Professions, Leaguer of the Year, LWV Special Project Awards, and the LWV of Illinois’s prestigious Carrie Chapman Catt award. Laurie has a wonderful husband and two grown children – also wonderful. She loves biking in the countryside, reading, and traveling.
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