Violations of the Right to Water, Utility, Food and other Basic Necessities

Aneidra P.

Rochester, NY

Although she is only 21 years old, Aneidra has experienced more than one of the human rights violations that were mentioned in the above articles. She is a child who has been in foster care since the age of 15, due to issues of substance abuse and neglect in her biological family home. She was dissatisfied with the idea of foster care placement and rebelled at any given opportunity.  Aneidra rebelled by verbalizing her frustration regarding her situation, not adhering to household rules, and by running away from the foster homes. She became pregnant and gave birth at the age of 16 years old. She was deemed a person in need of supervision and ultimately The Department of Human Services filed a PINS petition on Aneidra. Aneidra made the decision to remain in foster care until she aged out of the system. She opted for a permanency planning goal of independent living.

Once Aneidra gave birth to her son, she became more focused on being a good mother to him. Instead of resisting foster care, she began to embrace it.  Aneidra and her son were placed into a Hillside therapeutic foster care (TFC) home.  Aneidra took advantage of the services afforded her.  She attended the independent living classes offered to the youth in Hillside TFC homes. One of her most defining accomplishments was to pass the road test to obtain a drivers license. Aneidra’s mother and older sister, also teen mothers, did not complete high school. However, Aneidra was the first in her immediate family to obtain a high school diploma, something that she is very proud of. She did so with the assistance of the Hillside educational specialist to ensure that her educational needs were being met. 

Aneidra felt wonderful and was quite hopeful about her future. She even took a nursing class. She decided that college was an attainable goal, so she enrolled in the criminal justice program at Bryant & Stratton College. After 1 year of school, at age 20, Aneidra decided that she needed a break from school. She was uncertain whether or not she wanted to return to college. This is when she began to experience some difficulties.

She was a foster child over the age of 18. She was no longer interested in attending an educational program or vocational training program. This was problematic. In order to remain in foster care beyond age 18, a youth is required to engage in either vocational or educational training. Because she was not enrolled in either, and had no plans to enroll, DHS had to plan for her discharge from foster care. DHS completed a trial discharge and met with her once/ month, provided a bus pass and kept other services opened. She left the foster home and entered into her own apartment on Jan 1, 2008. She applied for temporary assistance, which sent her on an extensive job search. She was able to secure full time employment at McDonalds. She received minimum wage of 7.15/ hour at 40 hours/ week. Aneidra was not eligible for any rental or financial assistance. She received Family Health Plus for her and Medicaid for her son. They received under 100/month in Food Stamps. Aneidra’s two bedroom apartment was $500.00/month.

Things went well for a few months. Aneidra was managing well with her new found independence. However, her son became ill and needed surgery. Aneidra missed several days of work due to his illness. As a result, McDonalds cut her hours significantly. Aneidra did not have the money to pay the rent due to smaller paychecks from the reduced hours of work. In May, 2008, several days after her 21st birthday, and official discharge from foster care, her utilities were disconnected. She was able to have them restored shortly thereafter because she applied for a HEAP grant literally, a few hours before the season deadline. Aneidra received an official eviction notice during the month of June. She went to court and committed to a hefty payment plan. 

Aneidra eventually left McDonalds for a higher paying job at Subway. However, after working for a few weeks on the day shift, she was required to work evenings & weekends.  This presented a problem for daycare.  In fact, Aneidra was fired from Subway the day of our interview.Aneidra’s experiences meet several of the articles for human rights violations. Prior to her last termination, Aneidra was a low wage worker. Her income was barely able to sustain her household. Aneidra’s place of employment did not provide paid sick days, so when her son became ill, she lost wages. This created a devastating cycle of financial deficit and stress for the family.

Statistics show that a college degree significantly increases earning power. However, pursuing a college is not for everyone. Aneidra decided that she needed a break from school and was uncertain that she wanted to pursue a degree. However her decision created conflict between two existing policies. The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 was in direct conflict with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. One division of Department of Human Services required that she pursue an education or vocational training, while the other required that she seek employment. She opted to seek employment. However,  without some form of higher education, the employment that she was able to obtain was minimum wage or slightly above, barely enough to manage her household.

  Article 25 references the right to well being including food, clothing, housing, health care and necessary social services. Aneidra was unable to receive any form of housing assistance or adequate child care during evening hours. Approximately 40% of Aneidra’s income was used for shelter with a substantial amount toward utilities. Fortunately, she did not suffer an injury because of the utility disconnect, however, the stress and worry about how to rectify the problem can be very overwhelming for a young, single mother.

Although Aneidra was motivated to utilize foster care services to make a better life for her son, the realities that she has faced since her discharge from foster care, has at times been overwhelming.   Her circumstances had very little to do with her as a person, but she like many others, have suffered as a result of systemic difficulties faced by many Americans on a daily basis.

Violations of the Right to Water, Utility, Food and other Basic Necessities

Aneidra P.

Rochester, NY

Although she is only 21 years old, Aneidra has experienced more than one of the human rights violations that were mentioned in the above articles. She is a child who has been in foster care since the age of 15, due to issues of substance abuse and neglect in her biological family home. She was dissatisfied with the idea of foster care placement and rebelled at any given opportunity.  Aneidra rebelled by verbalizing her frustration regarding her situation, not adhering to household rules, and by running away from the foster homes. She became pregnant and gave birth at the age of 16 years old. She was deemed a person in need of supervision and ultimately The Department of Human Services filed a PINS petition on Aneidra. Aneidra made the decision to remain in foster care until she aged out of the system. She opted for a permanency planning goal of independent living.

Once Aneidra gave birth to her son, she became more focused on being a good mother to him. Instead of resisting foster care, she began to embrace it.  Aneidra and her son were placed into a Hillside therapeutic foster care (TFC) home.  Aneidra took advantage of the services afforded her.  She attended the independent living classes offered to the youth in Hillside TFC homes. One of her most defining accomplishments was to pass the road test to obtain a drivers license. Aneidra’s mother and older sister, also teen mothers, did not complete high school. However, Aneidra was the first in her immediate family to obtain a high school diploma, something that she is very proud of. She did so with the assistance of the Hillside educational specialist to ensure that her educational needs were being met. 

Aneidra felt wonderful and was quite hopeful about her future. She even took a nursing class. She decided that college was an attainable goal, so she enrolled in the criminal justice program at Bryant & Stratton College. After 1 year of school, at age 20, Aneidra decided that she needed a break from school. She was uncertain whether or not she wanted to return to college. This is when she began to experience some difficulties.

She was a foster child over the age of 18. She was no longer interested in attending an educational program or vocational training program. This was problematic. In order to remain in foster care beyond age 18, a youth is required to engage in either vocational or educational training. Because she was not enrolled in either, and had no plans to enroll, DHS had to plan for her discharge from foster care. DHS completed a trial discharge and met with her once/ month, provided a bus pass and kept other services opened. She left the foster home and entered into her own apartment on Jan 1, 2008. She applied for temporary assistance, which sent her on an extensive job search. She was able to secure full time employment at McDonalds. She received minimum wage of 7.15/ hour at 40 hours/ week. Aneidra was not eligible for any rental or financial assistance. She received Family Health Plus for her and Medicaid for her son. They received under 100/month in Food Stamps. Aneidra’s two bedroom apartment was $500.00/month.

Things went well for a few months. Aneidra was managing well with her new found independence. However, her son became ill and needed surgery. Aneidra missed several days of work due to his illness. As a result, McDonalds cut her hours significantly. Aneidra did not have the money to pay the rent due to smaller paychecks from the reduced hours of work. In May, 2008, several days after her 21st birthday, and official discharge from foster care, her utilities were disconnected. She was able to have them restored shortly thereafter because she applied for a HEAP grant literally, a few hours before the season deadline. Aneidra received an official eviction notice during the month of June. She went to court and committed to a hefty payment plan. 

Aneidra eventually left McDonalds for a higher paying job at Subway. However, after working for a few weeks on the day shift, she was required to work evenings & weekends.  This presented a problem for daycare.  In fact, Aneidra was fired from Subway the day of our interview.Aneidra’s experiences meet several of the articles for human rights violations. Prior to her last termination, Aneidra was a low wage worker. Her income was barely able to sustain her household. Aneidra’s place of employment did not provide paid sick days, so when her son became ill, she lost wages. This created a devastating cycle of financial deficit and stress for the family.

Statistics show that a college degree significantly increases earning power. However, pursuing a college is not for everyone. Aneidra decided that she needed a break from school and was uncertain that she wanted to pursue a degree. However her decision created conflict between two existing policies. The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 was in direct conflict with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. One division of Department of Human Services required that she pursue an education or vocational training, while the other required that she seek employment. She opted to seek employment. However,  without some form of higher education, the employment that she was able to obtain was minimum wage or slightly above, barely enough to manage her household.

  Article 25 references the right to well being including food, clothing, housing, health care and necessary social services. Aneidra was unable to receive any form of housing assistance or adequate child care during evening hours. Approximately 40% of Aneidra’s income was used for shelter with a substantial amount toward utilities. Fortunately, she did not suffer an injury because of the utility disconnect, however, the stress and worry about how to rectify the problem can be very overwhelming for a young, single mother.

Although Aneidra was motivated to utilize foster care services to make a better life for her son, the realities that she has faced since her discharge from foster care, has at times been overwhelming.   Her circumstances had very little to do with her as a person, but she like many others, have suffered as a result of systemic difficulties faced by many Americans on a daily basis.