I grew up in poverty; we need to fix it

The poverty rate is very high sadly. We need to fix it.

I grew up in Madera; I also grew up in poverty. I grew up in a small, one-bedroom house with four of my siblings and two of my parents.

It had broken windows. During the winter, we covered it with duct tape so it wouldn’t get as cold. The house had a leaking ceiling, so we put a bucket down so the drops that sneaked in wouldn’t hit the floor. It wasn’t a very good house but it was all my parents could afford making a combined $15,000 annually.

Growing up in poverty sucked. I remember when we had no food. A pastor from the church that my parents go to brought us two five-gallon buckets full of eggs and two garbage bags full of loaves of bread. I remember eating that for a long time.

I know how it feels like to be in poverty. Thankfully, I am out of poverty, but sadly a lot of people are still in poverty. We need to do something.

This story was originally published November 5, 2017 at 4:25 AM with the headline "I grew up in poverty; we need to fix it."