By Anne Marshall
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-880948.mp3
Nashville, TN – The tough economy has left at least ten thousand Tennessee school children drifting with their families from motel rooms, to friends' couches, to a relative's home for shelter. School officials who track that movement call them families "living in transition." From Nashville Public Radio, Anne Marshall has the story of one family struggling to keep life as normal as possible.
In October when Shirley McKendree moved her family from their 2-bedroom home into a motel room that takes about 20 steps to cross, she knew privacy would disappear. She wasn't ready for the feeling of total isolation.
SHIRLEY: "It's just a lonely feeling. It feels like you've done something wrong," Shirley said.
After losing her job as a manager at a Mapco gas station, and with no savings, she couldn't afford rent, so they headed for shelter by the airport that didn't require a deposit.
"Are you brushing teeth and doing hair and all that good stuff?" Shirley said.
It's 6 in the morning and Shirley is pulling 11-year-old Noah from the fog that lies between sleep and school. Her 19-year-old son is still in bed so they're on a hushed hunt for school clothes.
"Is my other red shoe over there?" Noah said.
Noah's shoes are not lost, just hidden in the clutter. What can't fit in the motel dresser's six drawers, underneath the two double beds, or on top of the compact fridge is piled into little mountain ranges of clothes, games, and towels, leaving only a bare strip of rug as a runway to the bathroom.
"I've got to clean everything up today," Shirley said.
There are thousands of families like Noah's, caught in tight times, cramped spaces, squeezing by just enough to avoid the streets. Statewide the number went from 8 thousand last year to 10 thousand this year.
Shirley says, "It's 6:16 so you need to be ready in 10 minutes. Noah replies, "by 6:25."
Shirley and Noah are about to get in the car for up to a half hour. Noah's school, LEAD Academy, is across town. He could go to a school that's just a 6-minute drive from the motel, but Shirley put him in LEAD, a charter school, because he was acting up and his grades were poor. Now he's doing really well. Noah feared things would change after the move.
"I thought I'd have to miss a few days sometimes because of the fact that we're low on money and gas," Noah said.
That hasn't happened. With 269 dollars a week in unemployment, 200 goes to the motel, and Shirley's left with 69 dollars and food stamps to make sure everything else is covered. Often when Noah asks for a soda, Shirley has to remind him of that need for gas money. It's stressful and Shirley gets depressed knowing she's giving her all so Noah's life will be nothing like hers.
"It's a lot harder on me than I let him know because he don't need to know. He'll sit and talk to me, just like I'm talking to you, like he's grown, but I have to remember he's a child," Shirley said.
There are adults Shirley could lean on. Her living situation makes her eligible for free city bus passes and even gas money reimbursement through Noah's school district, but she doesn't take it. Even without a job, she wants to be a hard-working, independent, role model. Food stamps are the most aid she'll take, and she admits that's partly due to stubborn pride. Recently she went to the Salvation Army to sign Noah up for a free Christmas gift program, Angel Tree. She sat in her car, then turned around.
"Somebody else is always worse off than you are. At least Noah knows that he's got a place to stay, and he's gonna be fed, and that somebody loves him more than anything. There's a lot of kids out there that don't know that," Shirley said.
So far, Noah is handling the motel well. Grades are good and he shares his mom's vision of his future. Minimum wage and fast food aren't in it. College is.
"I want to do something with my life I don't want to be somebody that people are like, Okay here's your change. Okay,' " Noah said. Most days after school he heads for his corner of the room. A beanbag, TV, and video games are wedged against the only sink and underneath a clothes rack. A rogue shirtsleeve sometimes blocks his view of the basketball game he's playing.
"I'm the Lakers right there in the purple," Noah said.
He says he misses riding his bike, but at least there are four other kids his age living at the motel. Sometimes they'll go to a small nearby field to play football.
"The guy upstairs above me came down one night and said can I be your friend? I said sure. He said my name is Austin. I said nice to meet you. He said thank you I don't have many friends here so I'm glad I got to be yours," said Noah.
Noah will probably be around to play for awhile. Shirley's credit is shot so getting an apartment will be hard even if she lands a job. For now, she has no idea what will happen when her unemployment runs out. But she does know tomorrow Noah has school. So, it will be lights out for the whole family at nine.