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Monday, June 05, 2000
By Steve Levin, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Last spring, Sheila Bass had a full-time job, a boyfriend, her own apartment and a salary of more than $30,000. By August, she was pregnant, unemployed and homeless, surviving on $280 a month in welfare.
She spent 10 months in homeless shelters, including eight at the Salvation Army's Family Crisis Center. But this weekend, she moved into her new apartment with her 7-month-old son Steven.
Bass' struggle to rejoin the workforce required her to overcome many of the same obstacles women face locally, statewide and around the country.
The Crafton native waited seven months in vain for subsidized housing. The only child support she received from her former boyfriend was the $100 garnished from his monthly unemployment check. And for four months, Bass "busted my butt" to find a job.
And though she now works full-time as a computer systems analyst with United Steelworkers of America earning $31,000 a year, her struggles continue.
There are child care costs of $630 per month; she makes too much to qualify for state child care subsidies. Her new one-bedroom apartment costs another $440 and she has $13,000 in student loans to repay.
"But you know what?" Bass said. "Of all the women in the [Salvation Army] shelter, none of them have a college degree. I have an associate's degree. But I have a bus pass and I'm living paycheck to paycheck.
"I'm grateful for everything that I have. But those women without degrees, unless they're making a lot of money like me, they're not going to have enough money to even live paycheck to paycheck."
Her advice to women: get an education.
"All you have to do is call any college and talk to the financial aid office," Bass said. "It's worth it."