The proposed Hawaii State Paid Family Leave, or family leave insurance legislation, is a necessary step toward equity for working parents.
When I was the program manager at Family Promise of Hawaii, an organization that provides shelter, food and case management for families with children experiencing homelessness, I saw first-hand how low-income families were challenged on a daily basis. Providing case management for hundreds of families over the course of 11 years really opened my eyes to the ways in which unexpected illness, crises or other situations negatively affected them.
Not only did many families struggle to find an affordable place to live, but they also had to balance employment with having to care for young children or their elderly parents when they became ill.
Many of the jobs that parents in our program had were low-wage, non-exempt/hourly jobs, and their work hours were subject to change at any given moment. Naturally, if employers see that the employee is not able to work the hours they need him or her to, they move on to the next low-wage worker and let go of the other one, no matter how loyal of an employee he or she has been.
When a parent has to take unpaid time off from his or her job for whatever reason, he or she is automatically at risk of losing the job — the “bread and butter.” This sets them back another month before they are able to obtain another job. Yet, they are already one month behind in paying all their bills and do not receive their first paycheck from their new job for another couple of weeks.
The snowball effect of someone losing their job creates enormous consequences.
I cannot tell you how hard I worked with families to help them secure an apartment to live in that they could afford.
I used to almost beg landlords to “give them a chance” because they are hard-working and responsible. The families were finally approved and once settled in, I wouldn’t worry about them for a while.
But one day I received a desperate phone call from one of the parents saying they had been served notice of eviction. I asked, “Why?”
She said her mother had gotten very sick and there was no one to stay with her, so she had to take time off from work — and got fired as a result. Then she couldn’t pay her rent and fell behind. This is just one of many examples I could give and is one of the reasons homelessness in Hawaii is not decreasing.
I would also like to address the issue of gender equity. I was a single mom for many years and was fortunate to have a strong support system when one of my children fell ill.
However, the single moms I worked with were extremely vulnerable and left to fend for themselves half of the time. When their children became ill, they had no choice but to take leave from work, losing their jobs as a result.
Our low-income, single mothers (and some fathers) struggle all the time. These parents have no support and no disposable income to pay for daycare when the schools or programs their young children are in won’t allow them back to school until their illnesses are over. What is a parent to do?
Recent research shows that family leave insurance is affordable. Other states have done it. We should, too.
Our lawmakers have an opportunity to improve the lives of many and have a positive impact on the economy and the community as a whole.
Christy MacPherson is former program manager, and current volunteer, for Family Promise of Hawaii.
