I started with my usual opening line of "Hi, do you like cheesecake?" and held out my plate of goodies. "Oh, I love you" she replied with an exhausted smile. I asked her what brought her out there, and her story is easily the most heartbreaking of all I've heard during these first eight weeks. Linda has two children, ages 9 and 13. She ran away from her husband six months ago, after she reached a breaking point. Her husband used to beat her on a daily basis when she didn't have any money for him to buy drugs. She knew she had to leave when her 9-year-old said to her "If he touches you one more time, I'm going to kill him." So Linda took off with her two children and hasn't seen her husband since. She prays he never finds her.
While the children are at school during the day, Linda tries to collect money for them to have a place to sleep at night. As I've heard from other friends I've met through this project, the homeless shelters downtown are completely infested with bed bugs, so she tries to raise $27 each day to take them to a hotel on the south side. In the four hours that she had been standing outside of Walgreen's, she had only raised about $2, so her day wasn't looking great. When she doesn't have the money for the hotel, she takes the children to ride the train up and down all night. She was especially stressed because the night prior, the police had told her that if they catch her riding the train one more night, they were going to have child services take her children away. She had been thrown in jail one night before as a result of riding the train, and luckily a kind stranger came to her rescue and took her children in for the night. But the threat of having her children taken away permanently was an entirely new worry for her.
I asked Linda about any family or friends who might be able to help her. She is an only child, and her mother passed away several years ago. Next I asked her if she might be able to get a job. She explained that recently she did have a job offer, but she couldn't get her Illinois State ID in time. She left everything behind when she ran away from her husband, so she has to buy a new ID, and for that she also needs to buy a new birth certificate. It costs $30, which she just hasn't been able to come up with. She's contemplating selling her body for money- something she's never done before, but with summer coming and the children almost out of school, she is becoming increasingly desperate.
During my conversation with Linda, I really had to resist the urge to empty out my bank account and help this poor woman and her children. It was really tough, but when I started this project I had to promise myself I wouldn't get into the habit of giving each new friend money. However, despite Linda being excited about the cheesecakes and telling me her kids would "tear right into them," I walked away feeling like I hadn't done enough. I decided that if I do see Linda again, I'm going to go with her down to City Hall and help her get her birth certificate and ID. Giving her $27 would only help her for a night, but hopefully we can get this sweet lady the means to apply for a job and get her on the path to putting a roof over her children's heads.
Stay tuned on this one...
Cheesecake Bites
- 2 8 oz. package of cream cheese (room temperature- very important)
- 3/4 c white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
This particular recipe yields 55-60 mini cheesecakes- it can easily be halved. First line a mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners. Then the beauty of this recipe is you can customize it however you want and with whatever you have on hand. Choose your crust- you can use vanilla wafers (crushed or whole), oreo crust, graham cracker crust, etc. I went with graham cracker crust- finely crush about 5-6 full crackers and mix with 6 tbsp margarine or butter and 6 tbsp sugar. Scoop about half a tbsp and press into the bottom of each mini muffin liner. Then in a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Spoon cream cheese mixture into each mini muffin liner until nearly full. Bake on 350 for about 11-12 minutes. Don't let your cheesecakes crack- that means they are a bit too done. I thought I took mine out too early as when they cooled they looked a little wet and sunk in the middle, but they still tasted great. Put them in the fridge to cool completely, and then add your favorite topping. I went with raspberry pie filling, but you can use any kind of fruit, jam, nuts, caramel, chocolate... the options are endless!
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