It’s one thing to see people survive, and get by on a low income - it’s another to be empathetic to the reality in front of you. Tiffany wishes more people would see those among us who experience poverty and homelessness and not turn a blind eye to their circumstances. 

“We’re all one step from being a homeless person you pass every day as you’re going to work. We’re all one step from poverty. Do you think about your family? Put yourself in the community’s shoes,” she implored. 

Tiffany doesn’t need to imagine housing instability or the uncertainty of not knowing where the next meal would come from because she’s experienced it firsthand. Although she is flourishing now, it wasn’t too long ago that she, her husband and their five children slept in the family car outside an Oakland park.

“I know what it looks like to survive versus we can go home and cut on a light and be okay.”

We first shared her story in 2022. She was optimistic for her family’s new start in Oakland, but it was a difficult transition. Tiffany secured, then lost, two jobs in a four month span. 

“It was a little rough. All my savings were depleted. I had been an at-home parent for so long. Even with the government assistance, I still had to make ends meet. Sometimes certain programs are not enough. But [UpTogether]  came in handy. It gave me the motivation to realize there was going to be an end.”

Now she works two jobs. Tiffany helps parents and families engage in their students’ academic success in her role as a family advocate for a Bay Area after school program. In her second job, Tiffany helps families navigate the Oakland School District’s special education resources. Her lived experience of raising a son with special education needs aids her in both roles.  

“It makes it easier to relate to parents. I can understand that frustration. I can understand all sides. I realized that I was doing this for years for my own child, for free.” 

As fulfilling as they are, Tiffany’s two jobs are also strategic. One ensures her family has health insurance coverage, the other helps ends meet. She also utilizes her expertise and degree in business management to complete clients’ taxes; plus she overhauls friends’ resumes to earn extra money. Every cent counts, especially now that the 45-year-old mom is the family’s sole provider, following the untimely death of her late husband. 

Tiffany hears the false narratives – that people like her who receive direct cash investments don’t want to work, or ‘stand on their own two feet’ - and she wholeheartedly refutes them.

“I can guarantee you people are doing what they should versus what they want to do [with direct cash investments].”  

“The things that we needed, we didn’t lack,” she continued. “It kept us afloat while I was still in the process of figuring out what to do. [Having the money] made sure we made it a lot of days where I didn’t think we would.”

Now, she challenges policymakers and lawmakers to take action, and not block efforts to put cash directly into the hands of people who need it. 

“If it was your family, would you want to see your family lose a home that they've been working hard for, because they couldn't find a program… that had the money at the time that they needed it? Why not invest in that person to make sure that they have what they need - to make sure that their family still eats and bills are still paid? I don't think legislators put themselves in the community’s shoes. You say you're from this community, but what are you really doing to serve your community?”