Finding Direction Without a Map – By Lacie-Jane Yarnell
My son, my husband, and I all reside in Carrollton in our first home since April of 2024. We were homeless up until this point, and the only reason we were able to rent our apartment is because we were allowed rental assistance.
Joey is currently 8 months old. As a family, we have faced many challenges along the way. Joey was born with his intestines outside of his body, a complication that has led to many different diagnoses. Joey has needed to have bloodwork to evaluate his genetics since he was born, but we cannot make it to the appointments. The barrier is that the bloodwork for this potential syndrome is required to be completed at an office in Springfield at a specialized clinic. My husband and I do not have any means of transportation.
We set up a ride with the medical transit, scheduled it a month in advance, and transportation never showed up. They said they could not find a driver for this trip. We have had to be our own advocates and argue. Just recently, after asking for 7+months, they were able to convince a local hospital in town to run Joey’s bloodwork. Our primary doctor had to work and jump through many hoops to get it done. The bloodwork was then sent to Springfield. We recently had to take Joey from our apartment to the local walk-in clinic, which we walked one mile to, as there is no local transportation for this type of service in our area.
Another barrier our family is facing is finding employment. My husband has applied everywhere within walking distance of our apartment. We have spent countless hours talking to businesses and turning in resumes without much luck. Josh is currently employed at a pizza shop next to our apartment. The problem is the job is part-time, only 20 hours per week. From this job, we are hoping to save money to hopefully obtain a car in the future. However, with that will come the cost of insurance and other costly measures that would require him to work more than 20 hours per week but would allow him to seek employment in a larger town nearby.
We received WIC, but no place in Carrollton excepts WIC (Women, Infants, and Children program), but without transportation we cannot access it. My family and I are positive that things will turn around and are actively seeking more options.