Conversations at the Free Store

Living Poor in Lansing, Michigan

My daughter and I often go to the Free Store where once a week you can get free food. Every day you are allowed to get as much clothing as you can carry out of the store. This unique store is nice, clean, organized, and all the clothing has price tags on them that say $0.

My income came down considerably when I retired. So much that basic expenses are greater than my income. The past two years have been a challenge, yet I keep thinking I am going to get better so I refuse to apply for disability.

And…I am getting better. This two year dive into poverty has opened my eyes to things I always knew, yet didn’t experience on a personal level. People are financially hurting. Food is expensive. Rent is so high that people can barely pay it which leads me to conversations I have heard at the Free Store.

The lady standing infront of me was chatting on her cell phone. The person she was talking to must have asked her why she was at the Free Store. In an angry voice she replys, “My rent is $1,000.00 a month, I have no money left over to buy clothes and school is starting soon!”

Rent is impossible in Lansing, Michigan. To even qualify for most apartments, you have to make double sometimes even three times the rent. Seniors and disabled people are left to live with family, in shelters, or on the street.

Right now, I share living space with my son who experiences a disability, my step-grandson who is still in…