This post was written by Rose M. Tinder-Obrien, a home healthcare worker from South Bend, Indiana. You can hear more stories from working Hoosiers like Rose who are struggling on minimum wage at the People's Assembly on February 23. RSVP here.

Everyday I care for people with disabilities as a home health care worker. Home healthcare is the fastest growing and worst paying job in the country. The cost of living continually increases and yet our wages do not. We desperately need to increase the minimum wage. No one can survive on $7.25! This week I put the last $6 in my gas tank and pray that I will be able make it to work until I get paid next. I even had to go to the food pantry to feed my family. The middle class is shrinking quickly and income inequality is at record highs. As a widow, I am left to care for my medically fragile daughter alone. She has a rare health condition, Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome and is blind. It’s been an endless struggle between making enough money at work and being a good mother to my daughter who needs constant care. I’m a responsible and hard worker and should be able to make ends meet, yet I struggle every week to pay my bills.

It’s time to raise the minimum wage in Indiana!