easy TO
IT IS SMILE
The story of s single mother sustaining her family on minimum wage Photos and story by Srijita Chattopadhyay Virgie Beasley is a mother of four, who has been sustaining a family of five single-handedly through a minimum wage job at a restaurant and a self employed job at home. Beasley conceived her first child at the age of 16, and immediately emancipated herself to find her independence. But soon after the birth of her first child, Shawantavia, Child Services took both the mother and the child in custody. When Beasley turned 18, she was allowed to leave the foster care, but due to her poor financial and family condition she was not allowed to leave with her daughter. After a year’s worth of toil Beasley gained custody of Shawantavia and found herself pregnant again four more times consecutively, out of which one she miscarried. Going through life with different partners who were either abusive to her or to substance, she learnt to survive life. Today, Beasley stays in a Section 8 house with all her four children; Shawantavia, Keenan, Journey and Allaiyah. She works at the Subway at Western Kentucky University for $7.33 per hour and on weekends she runs a hair saloon at home. She hopes that someday she can have a regular family with a husband and her children, but till then she looks forward to staying strong. “It is easy to smile than cry, that is why I always try to smile,” said Beasley.