Julie Ann

Julie Ann, 59, lost her job as an after-school program worker in Williamstown, Vermont, due to funding shortfalls in fall 2002. As an educator, Julie Ann has been searching for a position in which she'll have the chance to work with young people, however, she refuses to go back to teaching in programs that are underfunded and mishandled. Julie Ann has partnered with her mother to start an art business, and she desperately hopes her landscape paintings and children's stories will support her and her family.

My Story
For two years I worked for a parent-run after-school program, however, in 2002 I lost my job because of funding shortfalls. Now, not only am I not able to help our children learn, but my whole family is struggling to find jobs that allow us to pay the bills.

I'd like to continue working with children, but I'm tired of teaching in places where there are so many hurdles to overcome, like the woefully underfunded No Child Left Behind. This really limits my employment options and I've been unable to find a job for months and months. I earned a bachelor's degree in American studies and a master's degree in education from Yale, but degrees don't seem to matter these days.

My son, Donnie, is also having a terrible time finding employment despite his college degree. He's 23 years-old and has moved all over the country only to find jobs at food chains that are low paying and offer no benefits. He and I are still trying to pay off his college loans, so times are pretty tough. I've had to move in with my mother to save housing costs, and I spread my small income over the most basic expenses for myself and my son's rent and food. My mother is in her late 70s and she shouldn't have to be supporting her child AND grandchild! My mother has used up her life savings helping the family get through these hard times.

The hardest thing to deal with is the hopeless feeling that the American Dream really doesn't exist for me, but more importantly, for my son. I've become involved in politics, so that I can make a difference in the world. I'm most worried that the Bush administration's policies seem to be dismantling many social, environmental and world peace gains that we've had in the last few decades.

I'd like to tell President Bush that he promised to bring integrity back in to the Oval Office, but instead he has single-mindedly served the financial interests of big business at the expense of those who vote, work and fight to keep this country on track. I won't place my confidence in broken promises in the next election, and I'm sure I'm not alone.