Social Work: The Road To Redemption

Note: All names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the people involved

“Hey! Hey Slut!” said Charley, 5. Charley continues to repeat himself as he taps and pulls on the legs of Carrie’s pants.

Carrie and her partner, Miranda, are social workers at a child-care service in Muncie. They help Charley and his mother, Marcy, 20, get their life in order. Carrie and Miranda spend nearly every day visiting multiple houses, working with family’s problems ranging from a lack of money and education to crack-addicted boyfriends.

Carrie began her social work in January of 2006 and initially she admits she was scared entering the homes of certain clients. Although, after three months of work, she isn’t afraid “to walk on up into any of those houses.”

Having children at an early age and failing to graduate from high school has created a disadvantage for Marcy, but she doesn’t let that dampen her spirits, although both Carrie and Miranda hide a deep concern for the recent changes in Marcy’s behavior, appearance and attitude.

Besides living in a government-funded house, Marcy also receives food stamps and Women, Infants and Children aide from the government.

WIC is federally funded program helping out low-income families by providing the mother with financial assistance, nutritional education and counseling and referrals to health and social services.

Most WIC services are provided at schools, hospitals, community centers and public housing sites. Marcy is lucky to receive WIC funding because the government does not set aside funds to allow every eligible individual to participate in the program. As Charley continues begging for Carrie’s attention, Marcy explains how the week has caused her stress and hardship – a seemingly common occurrence in Marcy’s life. Carrie ignores Charley’s disrespectful cries for attention.

“I’m sure he’s heard that phrase a million times,” said Carrie. “He’s obviously heard that coming out of his Mom’s mouth and everybody that comes in and out of that house.”

When entering Marcy’s house one would think it’s just another modular style house with fresh paint and new windows. Marcy lives in a Government funded house, but no signs outside label it as such.

In January, Marcy received a letter from the government explaining she was one of the few lucky people in Muncie to begin receiving Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, which will pay Marcy’s rent for many years to come.

On a hot day in July of 2005, Marcy and her children waited in a line of hundreds to sign up for Section 8 at its offices along South Madison Street.

Although hundreds of people in Muncie sign up to receive Section 8, less than 10 percent of the people will ever receive the funding. Section 8 chooses recipients at random and most people wait six to eight months to hear if their application is accepted.

Once Marcy opened her letter of acceptance from Section 8, her life began to change for the better. In early February, Carrie and Miranda helped Marcy find her house. They visited a few different places, but some wouldn’t meet Section 8’s standards for living. Carrie said Marcy seemed very excited about the opportunity.

After acceptance, recipients usually move to a new home approved by Section 8. At this point it is their responsibility to keep screens on the windows at all times, keep the yard clean and have working smoke detectors on each floor. Section 8 also performs random visits to make sure the home is up to its high standards of living.

But inside the home some of the Section 8 standards aren’t being met. The carpet is swept and a few pictures adorn the smoke-stained walls. Marcy’s three children, Charley, Linda, 3 and Michael, 1, have scattered their toys across the floor creating a living room resembling the remains of a plane crash.

Prior to entering the house, Charlotte and Nancy exchange glances, knowing the adventure ahead of them. After entering, the pair avoids the children’s toys, sit on the couch and proceed to ask Marcy about the developments in her life. Marcy names off quite a problems relating mostly to boys and her friends. The pair look at their clipboards and takes notes regarding Marcy’s exposition.

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Marcy is a rather candid individual while explaining her week. While detailing her week, she refers to some of the people in her life as “assholes” and “bastards.” It’s obvious she feels comfortable around the two people who continue to help her, no matter how many times she fails to answer their phone calls and knockings at the door.

Carrie and Miranda don’t understand exactly why Marcy chooses to answer her door some days and not the others. When the pair can contact Marcy she seems to act like “one of the girls,” although the bags under Marcy’s eyes and her neck covered in bruises from an evening of sensual kissing seem to help answer their questions.

But Marcy’s neck is not their concern. They are there to preserve a good environment for Marcy’s kids, set goals for Marcy and the children’s development, and provide resources for her family like food and childcare.

Most Americans wouldn’t consider Carrie’s job to be desirable, but she wouldn’t want to be a part of any other line of work. She says the reward of knowing she’s keeping these family’s lives from spinning out of control like a broken kite provides enough satisfaction.

Because of her lack of time and a job, Marcy is unable to own a car and take care of her children. After catching up with Marcy, Carrie and Miranda offer her a ride to bank and Bed ‘n Britches along West Jackson Street.

Bed ‘n Britches is a service provided by the Open Door Clinic. At Bed and Britches, mothers can get free supplies for their home.

“It’s a great service,” Carrie explains. “Because most families don’t think about providing themselves with essentials like toilet paper, soap and laundry stuff.”

Carrie, Miranda and Marcy share a few laughs while driving around town and shortly their visit comes to an end after picking up some fast food for Marcy and her kids.

After dropping Marcy off at her house, Carrie and Miranda discuss their meeting. Both workers express their concern for Marcy and her home.

Carrie explained that when Marcy first received approval in the Section 8 program she was excited for the opportunity. The pair helped Marcy find her house and receive approval of the residence. At that time, Marcy would always be awake and answer her door as soon as they arrived. The only people inside the house were Marcy and her two children. All the screens on her windows were attached and the floor was much easier to navigate.

Carrie said Marcy’s enthusiasm for her fresh start continued for about three weeks, but soon things began to unravel. Carrie recalls visiting Marcy in early March and noticed all the screens on her windows were hanging off the frames like a person clutching for life. Beyond the windows, two women and two men filled the bedrooms and couches, as Marcy would stumble to the door looking haggard and tired.

When asked who her guests were or why they were there Marcy seemed indignant about answering the questions. Both Carrie and Miranda felt awkward about conducting their visit with two strangers sleeping on the floor, so they tried to keep things brief. Carrie read Charley a book and Miranda talked with Marcy about Linda’s growth and feeding. The pair felt Marcy was taking advantage of the opportunity given to her.

After the visit Carrie said, “It’s not just like, ‘Here we [the government] give you this money to wreck the place.’”

As Carrie and Miranda exited the house Carrie said she looked upstairs and saw Charley urinating on the carpet in his room while staring at his penis. Charley noticed Carrie watching him and pulled his mattress over the urine-covered carpet.

Throughout March, Carrie and Miranda get to visit with Marcy only a few more times as her willingness to answer the door becomes spotty, at best.

While visiting another family who Carrie and Miranda also help, they run into one of Marcy’s good friends, Summer. Summer provides Carrie and Marcy with some insight about the changes in Marcy’s behavior, but the news is less than encouraging.

“Summer said Marcy and her friend April have been popping Stacker-3s left and right, all the time,” Carrie recalled. “Summer even said Marcy and April have been making Marcy’s 15-year-old cousin watch Marcy’s kids when they leave and feel like getting booty or alcohol so they can have late-night parties all the time.”

Summer and Marcy have been friends for years, and Carrie and Miranda trust the information Summer gave them. While they won’t be able to discipline Marcy for her poor choices, the pair can now focus on things they should pay attention to the next time they can visit Marcy.

A few days later, Carrie and Miranda go to Marcy’s for a scheduled visit. As they arrive, the condition of the yard disgusts them. The children’s toys are all over the yard and pop cans cover the porch like snow. Marcy, again, fails to answer the door, but while the pair continues knocking for 15 minutes, Marcy’s neighbor comes outside.

Marcy’s neighbor tells the pair that Marcy’s kids have been outside most of the week playing on their own as traffic speeds by the house, and guys walk in and out of the house at all times of the night. Marcy’s neighbor also explains that the previous night Marcy and April ran around the neighborhood trying to find Charley who had wondered away from the house. She said Marcy and April eventually found Charley near the railroad tracks a few blocks away.

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The news from Marcy’s neighbor frustrates Carrie and Miranda. Because the pair hasn’t witnessed any of these events, they are unable to take action. Miranda remains cynical and now feels she never knows whom to believe.

Nearly three weeks pass until Carrie and Miranda see Marcy again.

While visiting Summer last week, Carrie and Miranda saw Marcy. She wasn’t there with her kids and the pair immediately questioned who was watching the children. Marcy said her cousin was back home watching the kids, but the pair could sense Marcy was lying.

Carrie said Marcy’s appearance is worse than ever. The bags under her eyes seem darker and she gained 20 pounds since she last saw her. Her hair was unkempt, her clothes were dirty, her eyes were glassy and she smelled like marijuana.

Carrie said she tryed to take full advantage of their chance encounter with Marcy. They questioned her about Charley and his trip to the railroad tracks, the all-night parties and the random guys going in and out of the house.

Marcy struggled to come up with immediate answers, but denied Charley ever got away from the house and said no one has been visiting. Marcy quickly tried to change the conversation and began explaining that she might be getting a job at Ryan’s Steakhouse. Although she can’t drive, she said planned on riding the Mits bus to the job.

On their most recent visit, Marcy finally answered her door. Carrie and Miranda had brought some tampons, napkins, diapers and deodorant for Marcy from a closet inside their offices filled with items they often try to bring to the families they visit.

Carrie said the house was much cleaner than it had been the last time they saw her, but the screens were still off the windows. Carrie and Miranda tried to catch up with what Marcy had been up to recently, but her answers to their questions were shorter than ever. Marcy said Ryan’s Steakhouse hadn’t contacted her yet and Carrie remains skeptical if she even applied for a job.

Carrie and Miranda didn’t see any signs of drug use or alcohol in the house. Carrie said if she ever noticed any drugs though she would call Child Protective Services.

“I’d probably wait until I leave [the house] the call CPS because I don’t want them to try and lie,” Carrie said. “It’s a serious thing.”

© Zack Sampsel 2006

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