Profile: One can't help but notice Dietrick Parrish

Students on Welfare: A Special Report
Kids on Their Hips; Books on Their Backs; Hope in Their Hearts

In just three years, the number of students on welfare—most of them mothers—has dropped to less than 10,000, down from 28,000. Most believe Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's Workfare program is the cause. Below are a dozen profiles of women who managed to stay in school and 10 stories about related issues.

One can't help but notice Dietrick Parrish. As she leans forward, resting her arms on the table's surface, she resembles a corporate lawyer about to advise a board of directors. But Parrish is not a corporate adviser. She is a welfare mother of two. By Tammi McElroy

This mother of two has been called fat and lazy and a disgrace. On occasion she was told she was not wanted. But instead of letting these insults crush her, she used them to fuel her ambition to the point that she not only juggles parenting responsibilities and a full course-load, maintaining a 3.0 average. She also has learned to speak publicly on behalf of all welfare mothers. By Rosalinda Rubio

At the end of the hall, through the double door enters an authoritative woman with an assertive gait. She is Greer Boyd, the coordinator for the parents' programs. By Jany Tomba

Bushwick born and bred. A tough neighborhood, a violent family life. This tough-talking, spice-tongued Latina with the rancorous, nervous laugh and tender chocolate-brown pools for eyes that speak pain is Michelle Rivera. By Tracy Peterson

Carol Marion Fendez is on a mission. As a community partnership specialist for the Bureau of the Census, she travels throughout the Northeast, training local leaders how to ensure that their constituencies are accurately counted. By Janice Lewis

In the early 1970s, at age 20, Debra Einstein, recently divorced and the parent of a toddler, landed in Boulder, Colo. She spent three years on the welfare rolls there. That was more than a quarter century ago. By Gerard Dermody.

Regina Buxton plans to enter the college's graduate program in social work. A former welfare mother, she hopes to be in a position to guide adolescents away from some of the hazards that tripped her up. By Go Urata

Domestic violence survivor Yvette Katen (not her real name) raised three children on a $174 monthly welfare check and battled Workfare requirements while earning her precious diploma. Next month, she will be on the job market. By Robin Riscica

Meet Angela Bradford: successful student, mother and career woman. She is also a former welfare recipient. Six years ago Bradford had a choice: Find a low-paying job to support herself and her children or apply for welfare and enroll in school, thus developing her skills for the job market. By Matthew Grace

An employee of the campus Welfare Rights Initiative, Maureen Lane spends her days working the phones. Her message: Mayor Giuliani's mandatory Workfare program is unnecessary. By Suk Yee Ng

A third-year student at Hunter College majoring in urban studies, Avone Logan spent her childhood shuttling between one of the toughest and poorest neighborhoods in the city and rural North Carolina. By Rasheeda Wint

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Diana Morris (not her real name) lives in a Bronx housing project. She describes her everyday life as juggling her family responsibilities and "studying, studying and more studying.'' By Kathy Egorova

A special thanks to Beatrice Lopez and Dilonna C. Lewis, Welfare Rights Initiative staff members for their uncomplaining assistance in seeing this project through to the end.

All sketches created by Jany Tomba

	One can't help but notice Dietrick Parrish. As she leans forward, resting her arms on the table's surface, she resembles a corporate lawyer about to advise a board of directors. But Parrish is not a corporate adviser. She is a welfare mother of two. By Tammi McElroy
	This mother of two has been called fat and lazy and a disgrace. On occasion she was told she was not wanted. But instead of letting these insults crush her, she used them to fuel her ambition to the point that she not only juggles parenting responsibilities and a full course-load, maintaining a 3.0 average. She also has learned to speak publicly on behalf of all welfare mothers. By Rosalinda Rubio
	At the end of the hall, through the double door enters an authoritative woman with an assertive gait. She is Greer Boyd, the coordinator for the parents' programs. By Jany Tomba
	Bushwick born and bred. A tough neighborhood, a violent family life. This tough-talking, spice-tongued Latina with the rancorous, nervous laugh and tender chocolate-brown pools for eyes that speak pain is Michelle Rivera. By Tracy Peterson
	Carol Marion Fendez is on a mission. As a community partnership specialist for the Bureau of the Census, she travels throughout the Northeast, training local leaders how to ensure that their constituencies are accurately counted. By Janice Lewis
	In the early 1970s, at age 20, Debra Einstein, recently divorced and the parent of a toddler, landed in Boulder, Colo. She spent three years on the welfare rolls there. That was more than a quarter century ago. By Gerard Dermody.
	Regina Buxton plans to enter the college's graduate program in social work. A former welfare mother, she hopes to be in a position to guide adolescents away from some of the hazards that tripped her up. By Go Urata
	Domestic violence survivor Yvette Katen (not her real name) raised three children on a $174 monthly welfare check and battled Workfare requirements while earning her precious diploma. Next month, she will be on the job market. By Robin Riscica
	Meet Angela Bradford: successful student, mother and career woman. She is also a former welfare recipient. Six years ago Bradford had a choice: Find a low-paying job to support herself and her children or apply for welfare and enroll in school, thus developing her skills for the job market. By Matthew Grace
	An employee of the campus Welfare Rights Initiative, Maureen Lane spends her days working the phones. Her message: Mayor Giuliani's mandatory Workfare program is unnecessary. By Suk Yee Ng
	A third-year student at Hunter College majoring in urban studies, Avone Logan spent her childhood shuttling between one of the toughest and poorest neighborhoods in the city and rural North Carolina. By Rasheeda Wint
	l Diana Morris (not her real name) lives in a Bronx housing project. She describes her everyday life as juggling her family responsibilities and "studying, studying and more studying.'' By Kathy Egorova