Low-Wage America: Kendra Johns

NPR | By Noah Adams

Published October 13, 2003 at 12:00 AM EDT

Kendra Johns and her two children in Augusta, Me.

Women raising children by themselves -- and working full time at low-wage jobs to make that possible -- often have a patchwork existence. NPR's Noah Adams recently met 41-year-old Kendra Johns, her 10-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, who live in the Maine capital of Augusta.

Johns works for a traveling team of photographers who take school photos, and in the off-season she works in a greenhouse.

Money is tight, but she finds opportunities to live well where she can: "I mean, it doesn't have to cost a fortune," Johns tells Adams.

Noah Adams

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