USA TODAY International Edition
Sometimes, parent’s every penny isn’t enough to survive
Dawn Zephier just wants to feed her children
A year ago, Dawn Zephier, her five youngest children and two grandchildren were homeless, bouncing from affordable motels to, ultimately, seedy motels simply to survive. A few times, they had to sleep in a car. Their lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico, were filled with painful uncertainty.
They secured a home in January, thanks to nonprofit organizations that stepped up to help Zephier navigate the federal McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which empowers school officials to offer support for students experiencing homelessness.
One might assume this family, with a roof over their heads, would be on the upswing now that there is some stability surrounding living arrangements. But Zephier, 48, still spends sleepless nights racked with worry. Utility bills are piling up, and the inflation- driven cost of food seems insurmountable.
This is a complex American story about addiction, abuse, immigration and physical disabilities. So many of these issues can lead to poverty and even homelessness. Zephier’s family seems to be caught in the perfect storm.
In August 2021, they moved from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Las Cruces in an attempt to start fresh.
Zephier’s adult daughter was using drugs. She had become violent, even attacking Zephier at one point. Zephier wanted to remove the grandchildren from the volatile situation, and she had extended family in Las Cruces who encouraged her to relocate. They promised Zephier that she, her children and grandchildren could stay with them for awhile. But the apartment was small and resources were limited during a global pandemic. Zephier and her family found themselves on the streets.
‘ Mom, this is too much for you’
“This has been traumatic, I guess, to say the least, on all of us,” she said.
After Zephier relocated, her adult daughter got her life back on track and in January reclaimed her children.
Though she has a torn meniscus and a cracked kneecap from a fall and arthritis in both hips, Zephier tried to work as a cook in a retirement center in Las Cruces. She lasted only three days.
“I always worked – I was a dietary manager and I picked up every shift and worked as many hours as I could to support my family in Sioux Falls,” she said. “I just can’t do it physically now. The pain has gotten so much worse. My son would come out to the car and help me into the house and he said, ‘ Mom, this is too much for you.’ ”
So her sons, both expected to graduate in May, told her they would go to work. Zephier’s husband, their father, was pulled over on his way to work and found to be driving without a license. He was deported in 2010.
They never heard from him again. “It just kills me that I can’t work right now and that my kids have to pick up for me,” she said.
Eric, 19, has potential scholarship offers to play college basketball. And Israel, 17, wants to join the U. S. Army followed by college to study biomedical engineering. They are both on the honor roll. And they are supporting a household. The family receives $ 1,000 a month in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, but the food stamps don’t cover the amount needed to feed six mouths for 30 days.
Thanksgiving amid inflation
Consumer price index data released Nov. 10 shows that the cost of groceries is up 12.4% over the past year, and that the price of food at restaurants increased 8.6%. Food inflation continues to soar, as low- income Americans particularly bear the brunt of the pain for basic necessities.
Every last penny the boys bring in is used on food and to pay utility bills, Zephier told me over the crackle of her phone that’s provided by the government for low- income individuals.
She recently went to the grocery store to price a ham for Thanksgiving. With a $ 50 price tag, she said the family may just have to settle for sides.
We can choose to pretend families like the Zephiers don’t exist. We can choose not to see them. But they are in every community in this great country. This is real America. Stories of poverty, homelessness and joblessness might look different from family to family, but the struggle is the same.
Parents like Zephier want to feed their children. They want them to go to school and excel. They want safety and stability in their neighborhoods. They want to be able to buy a ham for Thanksgiving. They’re out here fighting for their slice of the American dream.
But sometimes it seems impossible. “It really makes you feel good when you’re out working, and I miss that feeling,” Zephier told me. “And I want to do it again.”
I pray she can.