Kanawha City: Struggling to get public assistance or a good job

On break from dental assistant school, Angelina Nemeth said financial struggles are constantly on her mind.

A single mom, she loves living in South Charleston where there are plenty of activities for her kids.

But standing on the sidewalk outside her school in Kanawha City, she said it’s difficult to bring in enough money to care for them.

“My mom’s been helping me,” she said. “If it wasn’t for her, I don’t even think we would have even been able to save our house.”

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Because she has vehicles in her name, even though she doesn’t have them anymore, state health officials told her she had too much money in assets for a cash assistance program called WV Works, also known as TANF, that supports mothers and families.

To qualify for the program in West Virginia, people can only have $2,000 in assets.

And she said health officials also consider tuition assistance to be income, which also puts her above the program’s income limits.

She has two months left in the nine-month program. Although she expects she still won’t make much money, she hopes there is room for professional advancement.

And she wants to be working.

“If I can make my own money and pay for stuff myself, I would rather do that,” she said. “You could make more working than receiving any kind of benefit.”

Kanawha City: Struggling to get public assistance or a good job appeared first on Mountain State Spotlight , West Virginia's civic newsroom.