March 20, 2018
Alieza Durana delved into how income volatility makes life so difficult for those experiencing poverty in the suburbs for the Better Life Lab blog on Slate.
In Suburban Slide, the Better Life Lab explores the changing face of poverty in the United States and how the symbol of American prosperity became the new place of poverty. In a six-part series, we explore what this means for Americans’ work-life conflicts and American identity in general.
“My income changes by a couple hundred per month. I try to do the right thing and get the help I can to pay rent, pay bills,” says Jennifer Green from Ocean View, a suburb of Norfolk, Virginia. Green makes $11.25 an hour as a cake-decorator for Harris Teeter, a North Carolina–based grocery store chain, which she balances with her responsibilities as a single mom, caring for her son, daughter, and brother. Green can’t work full time because full-time hours require “open availability,” i.e. unpredictable hours incompatible with her caregiving needs.