TALES OF A WELFARE CHILD
This is my niece's life as she knows it...
I once was a young girl
A young girl who was different
In physical ways and socially
But also financially
My dad was a hair dresser
My mom was a stay at home mom
So for a little while we struggled
We got some income from welfare
Ours was a family of four
We lived in geared to income housing
For 12 years, we lived there
It was not an easy thing
I went to school of course
The school had a large portion
Of welfare children
That was obvious to all
The thing of it all was
The school turned us away
They did not give us the help
We all needed so much
My brother and I struggled
We didn't learn properly
We didn't get help at all
We failed to learn what we needed to
They pushed us through
Year after year
Despite that we struggled
It was hard on us
We both got bullied too
The school didn't care about us
So the bullying was never stopped
Never truly dealt with
I never learned math properly
I still can't divide
I didn't really learn French
This ended up hurting me
My lifelong dream, you see
Was to be a Veterinarian
Math is a big requirement
So that dream was not to be
I struggled with math
In my high school classes
Since I did not learn it before
Couldn't take the required levels
Because of that school
I am not who I wanted to be
I will never be able to be
I struggle every day
My confidence, my self esteem
It didn't exist for so long
Only recently have I built one
But it still is very low
We were kids, just kids
Our family recieved welfare, yes
But we deserved help too
We needed help
They turned us away
Treated us like we didn't matter
Because of that, we struggled
We still struggle to this day
If I'd gotten the help I needed
If I had learnt it all
Who knows where'd I'd be
I could've gotten a scholarship!
If my school, if the staff
Had just cared about me at all
Who knows who I would be
What I would have accomplished
People look at me now
They judge me so harshly
But they don't know my story
They don't know my struggles
There's more to me
Than simply meets the eye
There is inner struggles
I have to deal with every day
You all have no idea
How much it kills me inside
When I am compared to someone
Who's graduated or in college
I wanted to go to college
I wanted to achieve big dreams
I wanted to help animals
All around the world someday
You have no idea at all
How annoyed or incredulous
I get when people are stupid enough
To throw that chance away
To throw away college
As if it's no big deal at all
But it is a huge deal
You are lucky to be able to go
If a parent pays for you to go
Or OSAP or scholarship
It's an opportunity handed to you
Don't waste that opportunity
Someone somewhere
Would love to take your place
If you aren't going to make the effort
To complete college when you get to go
Not everyone is lucky enough
To get that chance at their dreams
Not everyone is able to
So be greatful you are
You can't possibly know
What's in my heart
There's no way you can know
How I feel and think
You don't know how I hurt
You don't know my past
You don't know my journey
You just don't know
You don't know how I hurt,
How I feel like a disappointment
To your parents, to let them down
Because I'm not who they need me to be
You don't know how badly I wish
I was doing what other kids my age are
Being out on their own, being adults
Getting married, having families
You compare me to people
Who don't have my struggles
Don't have my past
It's different for them
They grew up in different families
With different life styles
Under different circumstances
They aren't me
Just because someone else
Can find a job easily
Or go to college
Doesn't mean I should too
I am trying in my own way
I am doing what I can
Under my circumstances
Given my struggles
I'll probably never amount to much
But that's what happens
When people ignore the kids
Who need help the most
We need to help those kids
The kids who need our help
The welfare kids need us
More than anyone truly realizes
You want people off of welfare?
Start with their kids, help them
Help break the cycle
So they don't end up like their parents
I can't be any plainer than that
I needed help but didn't get it
Let's make sure the others do
So this doesn't happen anymore
~ Alycia Hancox
(P.S. We stopped receiving welfare when my mom went back out to work after we started school full time. We moved out of the geared to income housing when I was 13 and my brother was 11, buying our own town house in White Oaks where we lived up until I was 19 when we moved into the place we're at now. My dad works full time at a factory and still does hair dressing on the side, mom works too. Our life has definitely gotten better in that way but will never change the fact that our elementary school didn't give us the help we needed which in turn, has screwed us over. I have received a diploma in Animal Sciences and hoping to work as a Veterinary Assistant or even Veterinary Receptionist.
I once was a young girl
A young girl who was different
In physical ways and socially
But also financially
My dad was a hair dresser
My mom was a stay at home mom
So for a little while we struggled
We got some income from welfare
Ours was a family of four
We lived in geared to income housing
For 12 years, we lived there
It was not an easy thing
I went to school of course
The school had a large portion
Of welfare children
That was obvious to all
The thing of it all was
The school turned us away
They did not give us the help
We all needed so much
My brother and I struggled
We didn't learn properly
We didn't get help at all
We failed to learn what we needed to
They pushed us through
Year after year
Despite that we struggled
It was hard on us
We both got bullied too
The school didn't care about us
So the bullying was never stopped
Never truly dealt with
I never learned math properly
I still can't divide
I didn't really learn French
This ended up hurting me
My lifelong dream, you see
Was to be a Veterinarian
Math is a big requirement
So that dream was not to be
I struggled with math
In my high school classes
Since I did not learn it before
Couldn't take the required levels
Because of that school
I am not who I wanted to be
I will never be able to be
I struggle every day
My confidence, my self esteem
It didn't exist for so long
Only recently have I built one
But it still is very low
We were kids, just kids
Our family recieved welfare, yes
But we deserved help too
We needed help
They turned us away
Treated us like we didn't matter
Because of that, we struggled
We still struggle to this day
If I'd gotten the help I needed
If I had learnt it all
Who knows where'd I'd be
I could've gotten a scholarship!
If my school, if the staff
Had just cared about me at all
Who knows who I would be
What I would have accomplished
People look at me now
They judge me so harshly
But they don't know my story
They don't know my struggles
There's more to me
Than simply meets the eye
There is inner struggles
I have to deal with every day
You all have no idea
How much it kills me inside
When I am compared to someone
Who's graduated or in college
I wanted to go to college
I wanted to achieve big dreams
I wanted to help animals
All around the world someday
You have no idea at all
How annoyed or incredulous
I get when people are stupid enough
To throw that chance away
To throw away college
As if it's no big deal at all
But it is a huge deal
You are lucky to be able to go
If a parent pays for you to go
Or OSAP or scholarship
It's an opportunity handed to you
Don't waste that opportunity
Someone somewhere
Would love to take your place
If you aren't going to make the effort
To complete college when you get to go
Not everyone is lucky enough
To get that chance at their dreams
Not everyone is able to
So be greatful you are
You can't possibly know
What's in my heart
There's no way you can know
How I feel and think
You don't know how I hurt
You don't know my past
You don't know my journey
You just don't know
You don't know how I hurt,
How I feel like a disappointment
To your parents, to let them down
Because I'm not who they need me to be
You don't know how badly I wish
I was doing what other kids my age are
Being out on their own, being adults
Getting married, having families
You compare me to people
Who don't have my struggles
Don't have my past
It's different for them
They grew up in different families
With different life styles
Under different circumstances
They aren't me
Just because someone else
Can find a job easily
Or go to college
Doesn't mean I should too
I am trying in my own way
I am doing what I can
Under my circumstances
Given my struggles
I'll probably never amount to much
But that's what happens
When people ignore the kids
Who need help the most
We need to help those kids
The kids who need our help
The welfare kids need us
More than anyone truly realizes
You want people off of welfare?
Start with their kids, help them
Help break the cycle
So they don't end up like their parents
I can't be any plainer than that
I needed help but didn't get it
Let's make sure the others do
So this doesn't happen anymore
~ Alycia Hancox
(P.S. We stopped receiving welfare when my mom went back out to work after we started school full time. We moved out of the geared to income housing when I was 13 and my brother was 11, buying our own town house in White Oaks where we lived up until I was 19 when we moved into the place we're at now. My dad works full time at a factory and still does hair dressing on the side, mom works too. Our life has definitely gotten better in that way but will never change the fact that our elementary school didn't give us the help we needed which in turn, has screwed us over. I have received a diploma in Animal Sciences and hoping to work as a Veterinary Assistant or even Veterinary Receptionist.
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