When Navy Beans Aren't Enough

That paycheck couldn’t come fast enough for this single mother of a two-year-old. Food had become scarce after the food stamp office cut off all benefits after receiving notification of a new job. Using money for bus fare to get to the food bank, to only leave with a can of navy beans, seemed like a waste of resources but it was a hopeful excursion; hope for enough food to put on the table just to get through two long days before pay day. 

Recent data reports indicate that 59% of women live paycheck-to-paycheck, compared to 41% of men. Further, 67% of women consider themselves financially fragile. For women of color, the data is more concerning; with 71% of Black women reporting that they live paycheck-to-paycheck as compared to 63% of all U.S. adults.?Getting a job is just half the battle; it’s just as important to find work with a salary sufficient to pay bills and put food on the table.  

Days like that were hard. There was this urge to do better but a feeling of being stuck. It had been hard to find work that accommodated work hours while relying on a limited bus system. Even harder was accessing childcare for a two-year-old; there were limited affordable options. Forget about college — for years it didn’t seem realistic. When college eventually became part of the picture, it was only possible after getting a car, attending part-time, and working a full- and part-time job. It took seven-and-a-half-years to earn that bachelor’s degree. However, that degree became the determining factor for further success.

This true account belongs to a local leader, Fort Wayne Urban League’s President and CEO, Aisha Arrington. It demonstrates tough choices people make every day just to survive. We want more for our community and we understand that access to training and education could help eliminate such difficulties. We tend to think people do not pursue college because of the cost or potential rigor, when really there are additional barriers like childcare, transportation or other non-financial barriers at play.

Efforts are underway to address such barriers through a new initiative, the Coalition for Advancing Postsecondary Education and Training (CAPET). CAPET focuses on education and workforce needs in Northeast Indiana, primarily devoted to enhancing postsecondary attainment, tackling barriers and aligning educational outcomes with regional employer demands. The Coalition was developed by the Don Wood Foundation and Questa Education Foundation, forming three working groups to identify and potentially implement real solutions to these challenges. 

The Coalition will remain active throughout 2025, presenting its progress at a summit in October. 

Comments