ANDERSON — There are no fancy cars or other luxury items at the Parran home on the city’s west side.
The family lives paycheck to paycheck.
“Every paycheck I get walks right out the door,” Anthony Parran said. “It does get tight sometimes, and we have our struggle moments. But it is very rare that we have to ask anyone for assistance.”
After Parran picked up his last paycheck, he paid all of his bills and bought some groceries. For the next 10 days until his wife received her work check, the family would survive on $40.
The Parran family is living in an Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) household. Anthony Parran, 43, makes $9 an hour plus tips at Greek's Pizzeria. His wife, Mileaka, 37, earns $14 an hour as a certified nursing assistant.
“He (Anthony) works hard, and he works as many hours as I can get him,” said Clay Sexton, a managing partner of Greek’s. “He is my right-hand guy, and he is supposed to be my delivery guy. But he does everything. He treats it like it is his restaurant.”
The couple both work full time to support their five children. Two of the children -- Airyonesse Parron, 15, and Jakyra Tilford, 17 -- attend Anderson High School. Joseph Tilford, 15, and his sister, KaNeisha Tilford, 13, both attend Highland Middle School. The couple's oldest daughter, Krysta Cole, recently moved out of the home and plans to attend college in the fall. Cole works at Papa John's.
With no savings set aside for an emergency, the Parrans are often forced to make short-term choices resulting in long-term consequences, such as buying a car at a high interest rate or getting a high-interest advance on a paycheck.
Besides paying for food, housing and gas, families like the Parrans have to decide what utilities they must pay each month, which school activities they can afford, and how to make car insurance payments, buy new tires or celebrate a child’s birthday.
ALICE households are also vulnerable to emergencies. A sudden sickness, an injury that prevents someone from working or a car repair can quickly lead to poverty.
Ripple effects
The Indiana Association of United Ways released a study last year on those living in the ALICE category. The study gathered statistics and assessed ways communities can help such families stave off poverty.
When an ALICE household slips into poverty, ripples affect the rest of the community. High poverty rates strain local services and generate the need for costly welfare services.
Anthony Parran's family relies on faith to keep spirits high in bleak times.
“My wife is better at it than I am,” he said. “Things will get better, and we try to not look at all the negativity. But that is a private struggle for me.”
Recently, the motor in the couple’s van stopped working. Jeremy Stow, who owns the local Greek’s franchise, worked out a plan to help the family.
“Anthony – he is a hard worker, and he has a lot of kids,” Stow.
He said Anthony Parran is often struggling to make ends meet "through no fault of his own."
"They got a new van, and stuff that shouldn’t happen to a good guy like Anthony ... well, it did," Stow said.
Parran had purchased the van through a dealership that provides high-interest financing. By the time the engine broke down, the vehicle's warranty had expired. the family couldn't afford to get it fixed. That left the Parrans with one vehicle in a home where both jobs depend on transportation.
For a couple of weeks, Sexton picked Parran up for work and lent his car to Parran for pizza deliveries. Realizing the family could not afford to fix their vehicle or buy a new car while still making payments on the inoperable vehicle, Stow offered to sell the family his van on a payment schedule for $1,300.
“He's worth it,” Sexton said. “It's very difficult to find someone who works hard. And when we do, we can’t pay them $12 to $15 an hour.”
Education top priority
Stow said Parran's work ethic and abilities would make him a good candidate for a higher-paying job. If anyone deserves a good break in life, Stow said, it would be Parran.
But Parran has trouble catching a break, at least in part because he lack education beyond high school.
“It is pretty much impossible for him to get a good job,” said Mileaka Parran.
Working to get ahead, she is returning to college this year to get a degree and advance in the medical field. While it took her a while to return to school, Mileaka said her children have no choice when it comes to their future.
“Education is first and foremost in this house,” she said. “My kids know there is no choice in this house. They are going to college; there is no other option.”
Mileaka Parran “absolutely hates” how hard her family has to struggle to survive.
“You have to be destitute in order for them to help you, and we're in the middle. So we are screwed,” she said. “I would like to see them (government officials) live on our income and try to pay our bills.”
While she sees injustice in her family's plight, Mileaka Parran is philosophical.
“It’s all about your journey in life,” she said. “If you have to make a choice to feed your kids or pay this bill, you will know how to help someone who is struggling later in life. If you never have to struggle, you will never understand what is like to go through that.
“I don’t have a problem with struggling, because I know it will not last always.”
Financial difficulties, she said, strengthen her family.
“A lot of people — born on the other side of the tracks, if you will — they flip out over simple things because they have always had a silver spoon in their mouth,” Mileaka said. “Something is going to happen, to everyone in all walks of life. And if they don’t know how to face a struggle, they will totally melt down. I know how to survive.”