The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities invited members of the press to the launch of a new report – Robust COVID Relief Achieved Historic Gains Against Poverty and Hardship, Bolstered Economy – that examines the impact of the American Rescue Plan and Child Tax Credit. As a part of this conversation, Cheryse, a mother from LIFT-Chicago, was invited to speak on the impact of the CTC on families and how its expiration affects the well-being of our communities.
Transcription of Cheryse’s statement:
Thank you for inviting me here today. My name is Cheryse Singleton Nobles. I am the proud parent of five children – four adult children and one very, very busy toddler that I am in the process of adopting. During 2021 my family was able to receive the Child Tax Credit, which gave us the payments of $300 a month.
With that $300 a month it helped us tremendously to bail out of different things that we had happening. I am a licensed childcare home provider, so a lot of families dropped from the program because they were scared during the pandemic, or they were working from home, or they lost their jobs, so that affected my income tremendously
My son was recently diagnosed with having a mild developmental delay and speech – and he needed speech therapy and his school was closed. So, with that $300 I was able to use it to help buy different materials that he needed so that I could try to continue with his therapy sessions at home as a parent. I was also able to pay bills and spread the money across – because it was very hard for me financially. Paying gas, paying lights, paying for our home, paying to keep our doors open. With the $300 tax credit it was guaranteed money. It was guaranteed that I would receive it every month, so I looked forward to it happening – and people need to hear our family stories.
Participating in the LIFT program, we were able to use those funds, it’s guaranteed – it’s guaranteed for us. To put work requirements on something like that it gives us a stereotype of being lazy and not wanting to work, when in fact we are in the fight for our lives. We’re trying to keep our family safe. We’re trying to keep our families healthy. To have to make a decision on whether or not I’m going to buy groceries or keep a roof over my head – that’s really hard, especially when you have children and families that look up to you daily. I still have to open these doors daily with a smile for the families that do come. And when the Child Tax Credit ended it put my family back into that state of vulnerability where I had to still make those hard decisions because now that guaranteed $300– it no longer exists.
I’m really hoping from this that the lawmakers would hear my heartbeat. Hear me as a parent. Hear me as a member that works. Hear me as a person that’s raising a toddler. Hear me as a person that’s fighting daily to stay afloat. Hear me as a person that has bills that are piling up because I don’t receive the Child Tax Credit any longer.
I’m really hoping, in my conclusion, that we are able get these funds, that these funds can continue – so the families that are like myself, families that are in the community that are working hard daily to survive and keep their heads above water, that are trying daily to remain afloat– that the Child Tax Credit is re-implemented so that we can have those guaranteed funds. So that we could put ourselves on track, be financially free, get out of debt, get out of the hole that we’re slowly drowning in.
I really need that Child Tax Credit to occur so that we can make things happen, so that our children can be safe. Our families can be safe. We can have a better future for our children that we passionately love and that we passionately care about. We really need the Child Tax Credit.
Thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you for listening and sharing.