"She was confronted with a very complicated system and an unfriendly bureaucracy that wasn't going out of its way to help her," Greenberg says.
The Need for Advocates
Crosby says she would have lost her AFDC permanently if Greenberg and Onie had not intervened.
According to Onie, the welfare office had overlooked the stipulation that, as long as a parent maintains "care and control" of a child, they can continue to receive AFDC.
Onie used car rental receipts and a letter from her son's caseworker at the Baird Center which testified that Crosby had been involved in key medical and educational decisions regarding her son to prove to the welfare office that Crosby did indeed maintain "care and control."
Four days before Onie was to present the case at a hearing of the welfare board, the supervisor of the welfare office told her in a telephone conversation that Crosby would be reinstated for AFDC.
Holiday Wishes
Although things have improved, the road remain arduous for Crosby and her son.
According to Schultz, Crosby's apartment is still not completely handicapped-accessible. Until she gets in-home help from an occupational therapist, she cannot reach food stored in the cabinets, so she usually eats microwave meals.
Schultz delivers food to her on his bicycle, but needs to find a system for the winter.
Crosby recently acquired a power wheelchair and a handicapped-accessible toilet, stove and sink.
Their federal aid now secure, Crosby and is working to create a normal home life when her son comes home for weekends.
They will be together this Thanksgiving, and Crosby has told her friend Schultz to spend time with his family--she won't be needing his assistance this year. She's taking her son to the church in their old neighborhood, where his friends live, and they'll have dinner cooked by the minister and his wife. Santa will be there with gifts.
Crosby wishes for a computer with a CD Rom, so that she can begin working at home toward her GED. According to Schultz, adult basic education programs are difficult for her to attend because they are often not wheelchair-accessible and she has a learning disability in addition to her head injury.
Crosby says her son has told her that he wishes for a car when he turns 16, so that he can drive her everywhere she needs to go.
Last weekend, Crosby says, she woke to the scent of French toast and pancakes her son had made for both of them.
"It was great," she says twice, her voice trailing off. "It was great."