MAHWAH, NJ — Haley Bradley is a single-mom of a 1-year-old boy. She’s been staying with a relative in Mahwah, where she grew up, but she wants to get a job and a place of her own. As many have found, the system meant to help single parents get on their feet is full of Catch-22’s.
“I do not think there is enough help for single moms, and there are so many things that make it impossible to get the help even offered,” she said. “For example, the state offers help with childcare, but here’s the catch; they require you to submit proof of income and proof that you worked four consecutive weeks. During that time, who is expected to watch your child? It is a system meant to fail mothers.”
This particular contradiction was even called out in a Netflix series about a single mom, Maid.
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“The whole reason mothers need help with child care is because they cannot afford it and they want to start working,” Bradley said, “but you can’t start work unless someone can watch your child and you can’t have someone watch your child without money. So it’s just a dead-end road for low income mothers.”
Recently, Bradley started this GoFundMe campaign, “3 Months Of Child Care To Get Back To Work”
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But she’d happily take other help, such as childcare or a job she can do from home so she can someday move into a place of her own with her son.
“I’m pretty open to anything job wise,” she said. “The more hours and pay the better, just to get me on my feet. I want to go back to school to be an ultrasound tech, as I was in school to be a lawyer, but I just can’t afford it anymore. If someone has a job that offers daycare I’d take the job immediately.”
Public officials have long noted that childcare costs are prohibiting people from being able to work. A statewide forum held in New Jersey in 2020 addressed “child care deserts,” places where it was difficult to find affordable care.
And gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop has proposed $10-per-day day care for those who qualify.
For now, Bradley and her son are safe, but her living arrangement is stressful.
“Tension has been high and I’m treated like a stranger here,” she said. “The environment I live in isn’t good for my mental health and it’s best I continue the process of moving out … I don’t mind moving away from this area, I just want a fresh slate for me and my son because he doesn’t deserve to grow up with any emotional trauma. I want to give him a better life.”
Bradley’s fundraiser is here. If you have job ideas or other help, you can email her here.
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