“For the past two summers, our organization has stepped in with our own summer cash program to fill the gap. We provided direct cash assistance to families, trusting them to make the best choices for their children.
The results speak for themselves: More than 85 percent of families reported no barriers to accessing enough food, and nearly as many said they were able to buy more protein, fresh fruit and vegetables than ever before.
We’ve shown that this model works. All it would take for Mississippi to extend that success statewide is a governor’s yes, a simple decision to opt into a federal program that would cost the state next to nothing in administrative funds. Yet again this year, Gov. Reeves declined, insisting that summer feeding sites and existing benefits are enough. Families have told us, loud and clear, that they are not.” – Sarah Stripp
When she is not caring for her 6-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, Amaya Jones is working full time at Kroger. Jones wants to go back to school in January to study social work, so she can help young women like herself navigate complicated programs designed to help – but which often trap – poor people.
“I know what it’s like to be homeless, to apply for (food stamps) and be denied even though you need it, to be looked at as just a number – I know how it all feels,” Jones said. “I want to help mothers and kids and young women.”
Returning to school will only be possible if Jones regains vouchers she lost in June that made child care affordable, she said. Jones’ family is one of more than 19,000 Mississippi families who lost access to child care vouchers and is now on a growing waitlist after pandemic-era funding that boosted the program dried up, according to the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
How Black Women in the South Are Protecting Each Other in a Time of Crisis
“Protecting each other is what we’ve always had to do as Black women in the South. Black women have long been the backbone of our families and communities, often stepping into roles that require us to advocate for ourselves and those around us inways our peers do not understand.”
