2022-100-Faces-Book - Flipbook - Page 78
Ebony
Mother. Nurturer. Hero.
A single mom to two girls, Ebony is no stranger to
sacrifice. She once went two days without eating so
that her daughters, ages 12 and four, could go to the
movies with their friends. She’s worked at the same
company for nine years, but as the only source of
income, prioritizing child care, groceries, gas, rent and
doctor’s bills was—and often still is—a struggle.
“With child care, sometimes the bill is my whole
paycheck. What am I working for if I’m having to give
over my whole check?” she says.
Ebony started meeting with a counselor at the
Financial Empowerment Center, a partnership of
United Way of Greater Nashville and the Mayor’s Office.
She says that counseling gave her the confidence to
plan, budget and understand her spending habits.
“My counselor is really for me and wants to see
me succeed. She’s giving me that extra boost of
confidence, even giving me homework so that I can
actually further what I want to do. She’s really helping
me work with what I’ve got and understand where I’m
spending. So that I won’t be so stressed out and will
have more money for groceries and I know we’re not
just eating junk food because the junk food is cheaper.
She helped me get a hold of my budget and make
different choices.”
Ebony started meeting with her counselor weekly then
transitioned to once every few months. If a big change
pops up in her life, her counselor is the first person she
calls to get back on track. Ebony’s counselor even told
her about a first-time home-buyers’ program.
“It really makes me feel good because I know things
can turn around. And the great life that I want, I can still
have it with a little budgeting. I want to start looking
into buying a house for my babies so that they can
actually have something to grow up in.”
But even with a firm grip on her finances, Ebony still
has to balance that time between putting in hours to
keep the lights on and being there for her kids.
“It can be tough trying to balance the quality time to
spend with them, to still nurture and give them that
guidance and let them know that, ‘Hey, mom is here,
and she loves you,’ ” she says. “Sometimes we may
not get home until 7 at night and we leave at 6:50 in
the morning. When we get home, we’re scrambling to
do dinner and to get ready for bed. There’s really no
time in the afternoon for them to do anything at home,
so I’m happy that they have a little bit of activity after
school to have that time with their friends. And still
develop their mind because they need that time to
develop and grow outside of the books.”
With her first daughter, her grandmother helped with
child care. But as her children grew, Ebony wanted
them in a program, learning and socializing with kids
their age. And getting ready for kindergarten.
“But programs are expensive. You want them to be
somewhere nice that has the different languages and
the tutors but when they are $400 a week, you’re like,
‘I’m not going to be able to afford rent. They’re not
going to have clothes. What am I going to do?’ ”
Her oldest is in middle school and attends an afterschool program. She’s grateful that her youngest is
in an at-home program where she’s thriving, learning
Spanish and playing with other children.
“I’ve been blessed with having good people and places
in my life to help me grow. I’m grateful I was able
to keep my job and continue my growth within the
company. Knowing that my kids are being cared for, it
releases the worry because you know that they’re in
good hands while you’re doing what you’re doing to
provide for them. I’m teaching my kids that no matter
where you come from, you can succeed at anything.
You can be anything that you want to. But you have to
work hard for it, and you can’t give up.”
Financial Empowerment Center
