Unemployment Hits Home for Peoria Woman
By: Lori Obert - WMBD/WYZZ TV
Updated: April 24, 2009
Even though the unemployment numbers are up month to month. The troubled economy is still taking it's toll.
“I
never thought it would happen to me,” Canisha Lemon, who lost her job as a CNA a
month ago, says it's been tough.
Lemon
is a single mom of an 11-year old boy.
She's been to job fairs, searches the want ads, and looks on line. So far, no luck. Lemon has experience as a CNA
and in fast food management. She says
right now, she's not worried about being over-qualified.
“Any
check is better than no check- $7.73 is better than zero dollars. It's not what
I’m capable of doing, it's what I have to do to provide for me and my son,"
she said.
In
the meantime, the bills are piling up. Lemon also faces medical bills. She has type 1 diabetes, and her son has
asthma. A local food pantry helps put
food on the table, but she worries about not having health insurance. Though there are good days and bad days,
lemon says she's not giving up.
“You have to have a mind frame saying I'm going to get another job. I believe if there's a will, there's a way,” she said.
Related: Unemployment at 9.4% in Peoria County, 6.3 in McLean
