Genevieve C. West: It’s Not Laziness. It’s Survival. A Real-Life Glimpse at the Working Poor in America

“If you can walk up to cars at a red light and ask for money, then you can walk into a business and ask for a job.”

That’s the kind of soundbite that goes viral these days—quick to share, easy to judge, and completely detached from the reality so many of us are living.

Here’s mine.

I’m a single mom with school-aged kids at three different schools. I’m the one who gets them ready, drops them off, picks them up, packs lunches, cares for them when they’re sick, and holds the whole damn household together.

In January, I had a canvassing job lined up, but two of my kids woke up with fevers. No child care. No backup plan. No job.

Since then, I’ve applied for hundreds of jobs. I’ve been auto-rejected by AI systems before a human ever sees my name. I juggle two part-time jobs and freelance gigs. I produce events and do PR for musicians. I run this blog. I’ve written and published three books. I’ve applied for food assistance, childcare help, and disability due to mental illness. Denied. Denied. Denied.

I’ve skipped meals so my kids can eat first. Last month I posted my Venmo to keep the mortgage paid. This month, I borrowed from friends, family, even my ex-husband, just to make it through another month.

I’m surviving the only way I know how.

So when someone looking down their nose at me posts that poverty is just a matter of “walking into a business and asking for an application,” I want to ask: Have you tried that in the last quarter century? Do you even know what happens when you’re a caregiver with no flexibility? Or when you’re mentally unwell, grieving, hungry, and still expected to smile through a job interview?

This Isn’t Personal Failure. It’s Policy Failure.

I don’t feel entitled to. But I’m not blind either. And I can see that it’s not just me struggling.

Mortgage rates are up. Gas is up. Food prices are breaking budgets every week. And meanwhile, wages are stagnating, mental health care is inaccessible, and benefit systems are full of bureaucratic booby traps.

We’ve built a country where people work full-time and still have to beg.

Where a sick kid can cost you your entire income.

Where we blame the hungry for not being fed.

This isn’t about laziness. It’s about a system designed to wear us down, and then shame us for struggling.

You might never find yourself on the on-ramp holding a cardboard sign.

But don’t assume the people there chose it.

I didn’t choose this either.

But I’m still here. Still fighting. Still writing.

And if this hit home? Share it.

Because stories like mine shouldn’t be dismissed.

They should be heard, funded, and fought for.

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