WIC Worker Speaks Out About WIC Services
It could happen to anyone…
A slowdown of business, reduced hours, even layoffs can wreak havoc with lives lived on the financial edge. Most of us are only a few mortgage or rental payments away from slipping into a financial hole, but until it happens to us, we think it only happens to other people. I can tell you from experience that it takes longer to dig out of that hole than it does to slide into it, especially if we don’t know where to go or are too proud to go for help.
My husband and I own a fairly successful business. However, some years ago, three of our major customers went bankrupt while still owing us money. We had a small child and were expecting a second. We fought to get extensions from our creditors and to hang onto our health insurance. We were soon having trouble affording groceries.
We delayed seeking help for all the usual reasons. We didn’t want to take a handout. We didn’t want to take help when there was someone else out there who needed it more than we did. We thought we could catch up when money from other customers came in, but the debt just snowballed.
Had we known about the WIC (Women, Infants & Children) Program, we could have received free food, and had we known about agencies such as Citizens for Citizens, we could have been helped with payments for fuel and utilities. WIC nutritionists would have suggested healthy and necessary foods for our son, myself, and for our daughter after she was born. We need not have worried about taking WIC benefits from others because WIC’s funding is based upon number of people served. In addition, we would be getting back some of our tax dollars by using WIC! I have learned that WIC recipients are not only helping themselves, but are also helping their employers because healthier families mean fewer missed days of work due to illness.
The true story related above illustrates why I am only too happy to inform people about the WIC Program. If you are raising a child under five, or are pregnant, please take the time to call the WIC Program at 508-823-6346 (Taunton) or 508-226-4543 (Attleboro) for free information on nutritious foods, health and human service referrals, nutrition education, and more. All assistance rendered by the WIC Program is provided free of charge.
Diana Martell
Community Coordinator
CFC Taunton Attleboro WIC Program
