I remember being ten years old and knowing deep in my bones that my mother was getting it terribly wrong. Not in the way children complain about rules or punishments, but in a quieter, more unsettling way. I could see patterns. I could sense that the choices being...
It’s a question that sometimes makes people uncomfortable: Is there a culture around poverty? The honest answer is yes, of course there is. But before we jump to conclusions about what that means, we should pause and think about what culture really is. Culture is...
I live in Battle Creek. So do you. But we may not live in the same Battle Creek. We drive the same streets. We pass the same schools. We see the same “Now Hiring” signs. And yet, the experience of living here can be completely different depending on what economic...
There are jobs available. We hear it all the time in Battle Creek. There are openings at the Fort. Manufacturing is hiring. Healthcare is hiring. Retail is hiring. Opportunity is everywhere. So why are so many people still struggling? Let’s ask a harder question:...
Today in our lobby, we ended up in one of those conversations that starts silly and ends up telling the truth. We were talking about cornbread — specifically, what it “goes with.”For some of the white folks in the room, cornbread belongs next to chili or a pot...
I grew up in a world where the word “home” was temporary and the word “family” was complicated. From the moment I entered the foster care system at age 3 I was abused, malnourished and belittled. From being abused I ended up pregnant at the...
To me success looks like being happy with yourself and your life is growing. Doing things you thought you couldn’t do until you do them. Meeting your goals in life no matter how long it takes just making yourself proud of the person you are and the one you are...
My Journey with Woman’s Co-op began in 2006 when I became a single mother. Co-op helped me become who I am in the world today. Through the programs I participated in, the classes I attended, and—most importantly—the nonjudgmental support I received from staff...
This is how the system treated me, and overwhelmed single mother. I have been being harassed with Children’s Protective Services for years. When my ten-year-old daughter was a baby, I took a trip with her to Pennsylvania and was even visited by CPS there. That case...
As the concept of retiring in a few years from Woman’s Co-op approaches, people have started to talk to me about legacy. About winding things down. About what comes next for me. I understand the question—but I’ve never fully felt it in the way it’s often asked. Yes,...
