Sharon V. - Parent & Early Educator

Sharon is a dedicated mother and an early education professional, but the pressures of balancing both roles have taken a toll. She has a 6-year-old daughter and had always dreamed of having a second child. However, the financial strain was simply too much, and she made the difficult decision to wait.

For years, Sharon worked two jobs to feel a bit more secure and avoid living paycheck to paycheck. But despite her hard work, the situation has only worsened—now, she’s living paycheck to paycheck, and she’s had to take on a third job to make ends meet.

Sharon works as a Speech Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) at Fall River Public Schools, where she works with preschoolers through second graders. In addition to that, she still manages her early intervention job, seeing clients one or two days a week. And on Sundays, she waitresses to cover her bills.

She explains that the reality for many in the early education field is that low wages force them to work multiple jobs just to survive. Despite the financial strain, Sharon is passionate about her work. She loves what she does, and really enjoys working with children, but it’s heartbreaking that the job she loved at her previous center no longer worked with her daughter’s schedule.

The biggest challenge came during summer breaks—without affordable care for her daughter, Sharon simply couldn’t afford to have someone watch her during those times. The cost was too much, and she was forced to leave a job she truly loved.