Kristen Mardis: Finding a Safety Net
Kristen Mardis was 21 years old, fresh out of college, and had just been accepted into graduate school when she found out she was pregnant. With no financial safety net and no health insurance, she had to quickly figure out how she would care for a baby while still pursuing her dream of becoming a speech pathologist. In this episode, Kristen shares what it was like to navigate Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and childcare assistance — and how those programs gave her the foundation she needed to build the life she has today.
Hear Kristen talk about:
Finding out she was pregnant just weeks after being accepted into graduate school
How Medicaid and SNAP helped her access prenatal care and feed her baby
Navigating childcare assistance so she could finish her master’s degree
The stigma around government assistance — and the dignity everyone deserves
How her experience shaped the way she now serves families in her work as a speech pathologist
Mentioned in this episode:
“There was absolutely no way. None of that would have happened without those programs.”
Episode 27 Notes
Coming soon.