Nickel-and-Diming Problem Kids

The first thought, but not the last. In the tidy apartment where Lawrence, laughing and full of energy, is watching his pet turtle crawl on his arm, Gail says she won't stop advocating for herself and others. That's what the government seems to have forgotten, she believes. "Do they think these mothers care less for their children because they're poor?" she asks.

"I had a lot of doors shut in my face, but I didn't let that stop me. I've been called nigger, but it didn't affect me very much. I had a multiracial family, and we were taught if you discriminate against someone you're discriminating against yourself. Spirituality goes hand in hand with that. Also education." She pauses.

"This whole SSI thing? If they take it away, I'll just have to find another way to make it." But just how she'll do that is not, at this moment, clear.