Annually, Taylor makes about $14,400. This is $7,140 less than the income level the Department Of Health and Human Services lists as the poverty guideline for a family of five. This is also less than the level for a family of three in poverty, which is listed at $15,260.

“It’s rough,” she says. “I’m married. He’s in college. It’s hard being the only income.”
McKinney says she tells her daughter to be proud of what she does. Although the amount of money she makes is “devastating,” it is enough for her to take care of her family.

“It’s kind of bad that all of the weight is put on her,” McKinney says. “But it’s good because she’s been able to pull herself up by her bootstraps.”

McKinney says Taylor has been able to get off government assistance and take care of her children. The family’s financial situation is rough, though, Taylor says.

Her husband, Christopher, is a full-time student majoring in business management in his first year at Cuyahoga Community College. He does not have time to work because of his classes, but he receives financial aid to pay for his schooling. After graduation he wants to own his own business.

Taylor says her husband doesn’t mind her being the breadwinner for their family. Once he graduates he will be better able to help out the family financially.

“Right now it’s a tough situation,” Christopher says. “The way standards are, the man is the breadwinner. But we’ve been together for over 10 years. I know that going to school is going to better me. In the end it will be better.”

He worked various jobs before he decided to go back to school, but to accomplish his goals, he says some sacrifices had to be made, such as an extra income. He will not be taking classes over the summer so he plans on getting a job then.

finding help
Taylor says the McElrath community, home of the King-Kennedy Center, was in worse shape years ago.

“It was bad,” she says. “Drugs were a big part. But it’s getting better. I close myself off from it. I’m at work or at home, or I’m [at the King-Kennedy Center].”

Taylor and her family live in a two-bedroom house they rent in Ravenna near the center. She and her husband have one car, so he has to drive her to work in the mornings and then get the children ready for school before he leaves for his classes. They were able to buy the car with cash, so they do not have a loan payment. She also does not have any credit cards and never has.

“I’m the type of person that, if I want it, I’d rather pay cash for it,” she says.

Taylor tries to save as much money as she can without using government assistance.

A working bicycle leans on a wall inside the old Skeels Community Center near McElrath. The Skeels center has moved to another location.
Trina Taylor goes to the King-Kennedy Center to volunteer and to seek help for herself, her husband and her three children.
Trina Taylor reaches into a brown paper bag, pulls out a piece of children’s clothing and sorts it into a pile. Her aunt and cousin do the same thing, folding and placing clothing in piles.

Taylor volunteers at the King-Kennedy Center as much as she can, usually cleaning, answering phones, making calls for donations and tutoring. But she doesn’t just go to the center to volunteer. She goes because she needs help.

Taylor, a 32-year-old wife with three children, has been coming to the community center all her life. Her mother, Sandra McKinney, is the center’s director.

“All my life she’s been one to help others,” Taylor says of her mother. “It’s all I’ve known of her.”
As a full-time manager at Wendy’s in Aurora, Taylor makes about $1,200 a month before taxes. This varies from month to month, depending on the number of hours she works. It is usually less than that, she says.

“It’s not too much,” she says. “I make enough that I can pay the bills and get food. We get by.”
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