Family is a word that means something different to each individual. To some it is those who share your blood, who are family, to others it is those who have played a large and supportive role in their life. If someone is your family, doing whatever it takes to protect and support them usually comes with the title. But how far will you go for your family? Would you rob a super market so your kids could eat? Would you sell drugs so that you could provide a home for your family? Would you do something to save or protect your family and the ones you love even if it meant landing you in a concrete cell?

This thought is not one that you would think your average person would have to consider. But in fact, there is a large population of people, who are under recognized, who face this question everyday. These people are the homeless, the people who live in poverty, who each day struggle to find where their next meal will come from, or where they will sleep each night. There are stories about women who even though they know what they are doing is illegal, steal food so that their kids can eat. There are people out there for whom drugs or prostitution are their only options for their survival or the survival of their family. We place judgments on these people, assuming that their illegal ways are product of them being “bad people.” But if you took the time to stop and ask these people their story, you would discover that many of these “bad people” are doing these things because they are trying to stay afloat and to help the ones they love.

In Kenan Heise’s Book of the Poor a quote by a women named Virginia caught my attention. Speaking in the context of the lack of skill promoting programs that are offered to women who are locked up she said “And without skills how can we get jobs? One alternative is to take what we need. I am not going to sit by and see my babies hungry and do without. If I have to go to jail for that, I’m going to.” This quote was very powerful to me, because it took the meaning of family to a whole new level. We all joke about saying that we would “ kill for the ones we love” but when it came down to it would you really be willing to risk all you have for your family or loved ones? Would you sacrifice your life so that others could live theirs?