Jada is a Certified Nursing Assistant in Atlanta. At $19 per hour, she makes what most people would consider a decent wage. Certainly too much to rely on SNAP to buy food for her family… right?
Wrong. Although Jada’s hourly wage isn’t bad, it doesn’t include the time getting to and from work – which varies based on where the client lives – let alone the cost of gas.
By the time you factor in cancelled appointments and sick days, $19 per hour just doesn’t cut it. Especially once you consider taxes, rent, and utilities; there’s not much left for food.
That’s why Jada relies on SNAP benefits. She describes it not as assistance, but as stabilization. “It fills the gap. I need it and more,” Jada said.
When SNAP benefits are deposited, she shops to the exact dollar: family sized packs of chicken, pasta that can stretch across multiple meals, and fresh produce purchased selectively.
“My kids need real food. They aren’t little anymore,” she said. “But you still have to make it last.”
Some weeks are tighter than others. A reduced schedule, an unexpected bill, kid needs, or a higher gas week can compress stability quickly.
Little Cushion For A Working Parent, Hope Remains
There’s no cushion at all,” she said. “It’s one income, one Mom, 1,000 bills.”
Maintaining SNAP benefits requires documentation and time, both in short supply after 10+ hour shifts and keeping track of Jada’s children through FaceTime in the afternoons.
“I work all day taking care of someone else’s family,” she said. “Then you come home and manage your own, with whatever energy you have left.”
Jada’s goal is to enter nursing school within two years. The math is clear to her: higher credentials mean higher wages, more predictable income, and less reliance on public benefits.
“I don’t want to depend on [SNAP] forever,” she said. “But right now, it helps me feed my kids if nothing else.”
The pay of home health care leaves many workers at odds, earning above minimum wage, but below the level where a single income comfortably supports a family. For Jada, SNAP is less of an emergency relief and more of a wage supplement.
“You just keep working as much as you can,” she said. “You keep planning and hoping things work out. You keep stretching every dollar. But my plans are clear.”
For now, $19 an hour, plus SNAP, is what keeps the lights on and helps keep food in the refrigerator. Nursing school, Jada hopes, will change all of that.
Note: certain personal details may have been changed for privacy reasons.
