Paisly’s Story:
My name is Paisly. I am nineteen years old, and I am a low wage earner. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. My mom and I still live at the same residence where I grew up. I graduated from Jefferson High School last June. I work two low wage jobs. At nineteen, my low wages have to help cover household expenses. I help my mom with our phone bill, groceries, transportation and medical bills. The low wages I earn does not go to wishes I have but to help my family survive. Recently I have come into a higher paying job, but it’s freelance and very competitive, so shifts are rare. The opportunity to earn more is still out of reach. The current minimum wage jobs I work make it very difficult to meet the financial responsibilities I have on a monthly basis. It’s very difficult to jump-start my life when I don’t have the money I need to do so. I can’t pay for school or buy things I need for my career because I have to cover daily living expenses. I can’t stress how much it would help for the minimum wage to be higher. Like myself many others are in the same situation of not being about to get a fair start to our lives as adults even if we are working several jobs because after we help our families, we have nothing left.