Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411280086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
And so it was, compared with the poor southeast Washington, D.C., neighborhood in which she was born, one of five children in a family living on Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
"It was hard growing up," she said.
She came here last year with her 21/2-year- old son, Delante, looking for a better life.
At first, things didn't go well for Mul-Key, 33. The relatives who had urged her to move here and offered her a place to stay changed their minds, so she and her son spent their first few days living at the City Rescue Mission.
Mul-Key soon found a subsidized apartment. She signed up to work with a temporary agency and got a second job at night, while a neighbor watched her son.
"There's so much help here," she said. "It isn't as hard to survive and to live." In Washington, she said, there is a 10-year waiting list for public housing, and AFDC payments aren't enough for private housing. The only places she could afford were in neighborhoods similar to the one where she grew up, and she didn't want that for her son.
For a while, everything was going well for Mul-Key. In Washington, she had worked as a store manager for several different businesses. But she found after she moved here that there aren't as many management opportunities in Roanoke, especially for someone without a high school diploma.
When she discovered she would have to start over again at a minimum-wage sales job, she decided instead to do temporary work, which pays nearly twice as much. Between the two jobs, she made enough for a down payment on a car and insurance for it.
But when her last assignment ended, Mul-Key wasn't able to take another. She had left her older son in Washington with her mother and had planned to bring him down to live with her. Her mother has grown attached to the child, however, and is fighting Mul-Key for custody.
Because she has to travel back and forth for court appearances, she can't commit to another job until January. She also had to give up her night job, because the neighbor was no longer able to baby-sit and Mul-Key cannot afford child care. Other bills began to pile up, too.
Mul-Key applied for assistance and was approved in late October, but there was a 30-day lag between her approval and the arrival of her first check.
Her brother agreed to make her car payment for that month, but Mul-Key had to come to the Presbyterian Community Center for help with an electric bill. She was given $50 from the Good Neighbors Fund.
Occasionally, she also comes by for food from the agency's food pantry, or "just to talk to somebody."
Although Mul-Key is in need herself, she knows some people are even less fortunate. When she gets groceries from the Community Center, she often shares them with neighbors who can't get out themselves to get them.
Despite her troubles, Mul-Key is glad to be in Roanoke.
The people are nice, and the pace is relaxing, she said.
After the custody case is settled, Mul-Key plans to go back to work. She also wants to earn her general equivalency diploma and has already been approved for a grant to take classes at Virginia Western Community College, where she will study data entry.
"I want to be independent and on my own," she said.
Checks should be made payable to Good Neighbors Fund and mailed to Roanoke Times & World-News. P.0. Box 1951, Roanoke 24008.
Names - but not amounts of donations - of contributing businesses, individuals or organizations, as well as memorial and honorific designations, will be listed in the newspaper. Those requesting that their names not be used will remain anonymous. If no preference is stated, the donor will be listed.
Gifts cannot be earmarked for any particular individual or family. Gifts are tax-deductible.
Wednesday's contributors included:
John and Victoria Jones
Herbert M. McCall Jr.
John Chapman, in memory of Ethel V. Wood
Bill Crosier's family
Grace Whaley, in memory of Benton M. Whaley
Mildred Patterson
Virginia Keller
E.J. Neal
Ron and Judy East, in honor of Ruth S. Andrews
Roger W. Binkley, in memory of Ethel M. Binkley
ANONYMOUS DONATIONS$325
SUBTOTAL$695
TOTAL AS OF 11/23/94$2,395
Checks should be made payable to Good Neighbors Fund and mailed to Roanoke Times & World-News. P.0. Box 1951, Roanoke, Va. 24008.
Names - but not amounts of donations - of contributing businesses, individuals or organizations, as well as memorial and honorific designations, will be listed in the newspaper. Those requesting that their names not be used will remain anonymous. If no preference is stated, the donor's name will be listed.
Gifts cannot be earmarked for any particular individual or family. Gifts are tax-deductible.
941124 STORY naborside 11 TOPIC Good Neighbo KEYWORDK AUTHOR:11/24/94 1
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