Opinion | 'I was now the sole breadwinner for our family, but after rent, gas, groceries, and other regular household expenses there was little left to pay for calls.'
My daughter was just six months old when her father, and my husband at the time, went to prison. I lost my spouse, she lost her father, and we both lost the financial stability he helped provide, at a moment when we needed it most. As the cost of his incarceration mounted on me, I could not afford to keep us together and the closeness of our family began to slip away. My daughter deserves to know her father, but corporate greed is making it impossible.
When he first went in, I was determined to stay in regular contact. I wanted him to build a genuine bond with our daughter in those critical early years. It required consistent and frequent communication, which costs money — a lot of money. A social worker, I was now the sole breadwinner for our family, but after rent, gas, groceries, and other regular household expenses there was little left to pay for calls.
In the first five years, I spent over $16,000, or more than $250 per month, just on phone calls, which back then cost even more than they do now. We spoke every day, sometimes twice a day. I wanted my daughter to hear his voice often. The egregious rates the state and its corporate vendors charged racked up fast. It was not long before we,Soon, the cost became unbearable and calls became less frequent.
Now, my daughter only speaks to her father on birthdays and some holidays. And despite the years that have passed, I’m still paying off that debt. I take extra shifts that pull me away from her to help pay it down. She does not get the time she deserves with either of us, but all three of us have done our best to stay bonded through it all and I am proud of that.Colorado lawmakers should not allow corporations to prey on its families, and certainly should not allow the state to join in.
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