Single mom clings to house as bills pile up
Tracie Sutton is a working woman, college graduate and homeowner, with a townhouse in one of Charlotte’s quiet, middle-class neighborhoods.
It looks as if she has achieved the American Dream, but Sutton says she has made it a point to disguise her troubles.
She lost her full-time job for a kitchen builder at the height of the recession and has been struggling to find work that pays as well. Even with a loan modification, she is in arrears on her mortgage, not to mention payments to her homeowners association.
Sutton, who has a 12-year-old son, is currently doing customer service at a dry cleaners, but it’s not a full-time job.
That’s what sent her to the Salvation Army’s Christmas program, which provides free toys to children of low-income parents. Her son, Justin, is among 11,360 children enrolled this year. Observer readers who donate to the Empty Stocking Fund help cover the cost of the toys.
“I’m not hiding all my difficulties from my son, but there is a lot I don’t share with him. He knows mommie is on a tight budget, and she’s doing the best she can to get him what he needs,” says Sutton.
“He understands that material things are not the most important things. But, I signed him up for the Salvation Army program because I wanted him to experience receiving gifts at Christmas. What mother doesn’t want that for her child?”
Sutton, 45, says looking for work is now her full-time job. Meanwhile, she is getting a second loan modification on her home, which she is determined to save.
The Salvation Army did a survey this year of the 6,000 households that signed up for gifts and found a lost job and/or a divorce were the two most common things that created economic upheaval for parents.
Sutton’s predicament is part of a trend, according to a study released earlier this month by the Pew Research Center. The study shows there are now more low-income and high-income Americans combined than there are people in the middle class.
Solutions aren’t easily found, based on Sutton’s experience. After losing her job, she went back to college and got a degree in criminal justice, finishing at the top of her class. But that hasn’t helped her find work, she says.
Sutton says everything about her move to Charlotte in 2003 from Westchester County, N.Y., has been part of an effort to “change the direction of a family bloodline” for the better. She says she came from a two-parent household that was dysfunctional and far from nurturing.
At 32, she learned she was four months pregnant and that carrying the baby to term could result in her death. Sutton says she decided to keep the baby and to deliver it as far from her family as she could get. A friend was living in Charlotte at the time, so she came here. The boy’s father did not follow and remains a distant figure, she says.
“I’m a Christian, and I decided that if God willed it, this baby was coming into the world, even if it killed me,” says Sutton. “It was possible this would be my only chance to get pregnant, and I was going to grab it whether I was married or not. It was in me to be everything my parents were not. I wanted a legacy.”
Justin was born two months premature, but he is otherwise a normal, healthy boy who has a great sense of humor and a penchant for dancing.
Sutton says she is working hard to give him a sense of direction, including being involved in a church youth ministry. His growing potential makes her that much more anxious about getting her finances on track.
“I would be lying to say I’m not scared, but I have faith in God that my day will come,” says Sutton, noting she remains grateful for what she has. “On Christmas, I’ll wake up on this Earth and have one more day with my son.”
Michael Moore, a longtime friend, says he has no doubt Sutton will pull off some kind of a miracle.
“She’s a strong woman,” Moore says. “That strength sometimes surprises me, not just her strength of will, but her strength of faith. She has the kind of heart that makes anything possible.”
Mark Price: 704-358-5245, @markprice_obs
The Empty Stocking Fund
The Charlotte Observer has sponsored the Empty Stocking Fund since about 1920. Last year, readers contributed nearly $374,000 to buy needy children gifts for Christmas. All money contributed goes to the Salvation Army’s Christmas Bureau, which buys toys, food, clothing and gift cards for families. To qualify, a recipient must submit verification of income, address and other information that demonstrates need. For five days in mid-December, up to 3,000 volunteers help distribute the gifts to families at a vacant department store. The name of every person who contributes to the Empty Stocking Fund will be published on this page daily. If the contributor gives in someone’s memory or honor, we’ll print that person’s name, too. Contributors can remain anonymous.
How to help
To donate online: www.charlotteobserver.com/living/helping-others/empty-stocking-fund/. Send checks to: The Empty Stocking Fund, P.O. Box 37269, Charlotte, NC 28237-7269. For questions about your donation, call 704-358-5520. For questions about helping families, call Salvation Army Donor Relations: 704-714-4725.
Total raised so far: $331,862
This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Single mom clings to house as bills pile up."