My 6-year-old daughter and I were at a family shelter when a black sedan pulled up… My grandmother— the richest person in our family—spotted the two of us and asked, “Why aren’t you back at the house on Hawthorne Street?” I froze. “What house?” Three days later, I walked into a family gathering—and my parents stopped cold, the wineglass in my father’s hand slipping down…
If you’ve never tried to get a six-year-old ready for school while living in a family shelter I can summarize the experience for you. It’s like running a small airport, except the passengers are emotional, the security line is shame, and you’re doing it all with one sock missing. That morning, Laya’s sock was…
