She makes too much to get help, but too little to live on

Dec. 9, 2011, Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum

By Jessica Alaimo

CentralOhio.com

Marilyn Allread is poor. Yet she makes too much money.

She’s taking out payday loans, and spent a month homeless, but she still earns too much to get any kind of public assistance. Recently she found out that she made $2 a month too much to keep her housing subsidy.

The public assistance programs don’t take into account the fact that a big chunk of her paycheck goes toward medical insurance to keep subpar coverage for her health problems.

Here’s the thing about Allread, who previously lived in Pataskala but recently found her way to Canal Winchester. The woman is determined. She wants to work. She wants to stand on her own two feet. But she’s come to realize, she does need a little bit of help.