Rochester woman continues struggle with poverty

from the Post Bulletin

By Laura Gossman

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Kathy French has lived in poverty most of her life.

The 28-year-old Rochester woman grew up in the housing projects in Winona and remembers moving from one home to the next.

"I went to eight different elementary schools," French said.

Recent statistics seem to show poverty on the rise in Rochester.

French and her son are not the only people feeling the effects of poverty.

A total of 26,908 people in the seven-county area were below the poverty level in 2005, and poverty rates seemed to have increased in all seven counties between 2000 and 2005.

French's mother, Linda Bradford, was a single mom with four children. French was the youngest.

The family eventually moved to Rochester, where her mother found a job with Olmsted County.

When French was 18, she moved to Michigan, got married and had her first son, Jerome. She and her husband divorced, but have remained friends. Her ex-husband has custody of Jerome and she visits whenever she can afford it.

"After leaving, I lived with whatever friends would take me in," she said. "I was basically homeless."

She had her younger son, Donald, 7, when she was 21. She has lived in a few different low-income apartments in Rochester but she and Donald are currently living with her mother.

"I doubt I'll ever be able to afford my own house," she said.

About four years ago, French got a job as an appointment coordinator at Mayo Clinic.

She was paid $13.77 an hour and their lives took a turn for the better. Other than help from Child Care Resource and Referral, she no longer needed any assistance from the county.

Nonetheless, after paying her bills, she'd be left with only $90 for gas and groceries, she said.

In August, she became sick and had to miss work to go to her doctor appointments.

"They (Mayo Clinic) needed someone there and I just wasn't able to be there," French said. "I understand why I lost my job."

Since then, she has collected unemployment and she and her son now get their health insurance through medical assistance programs.

While she hasn't been working, French has been volunteering her time at her son's school, the United Way of Olmsted County and the Dorothy Day Hospitality House. She's also taken a resume writing class.

A majority of her time has been spent advocating for others who are suffering from poverty.

French became a board member of Olmsted County's Community Action Program and gave state legislators a tour of several assistance programs and homeless shelters throughout southeastern Minnesota recently.

Most people who are living in poverty are too proud or ashamed to seek help, she said.

"When people think of poverty, they think of people who are living on the streets," French said.

She said this picture isn't accurate.