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by The Associated Press
PATERSON, N.J. Last year Felicia Hernandez gave birth to
New Jersey's first baby of the new millennium, bringing herself and
son Yordy media attention and local fame.
Gov. Christie Whitman sent a letter of congratulations,
neighbors cheered when Hernandez walked by, and the doctor who
delivered Yordy said in a television interview that the boy
embodied hope for the future.
Hernandez told the media that Yordy would one day become
president.
But the mother's hopes diminished in 2000 as she lost her
factory job and received an eviction notice. On Tuesday, she must
begin working for welfare benefits.
``I'm a little desperate,'' Hernandez told The Herald News of
West Paterson for Monday's editions. ``But I'm not crazy because I
pray to God.''
The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic was laid off
from her job at a bookbinder in Ringwood, where she had been
employed for five years.
State law gives welfare recipients two years to get a job or
begin a work program. Hernandez must attend a work experience
program Tuesday, and worries about how she will find someone to
take care of her four kids, the oldest of whom is 8.
She said finding a new job is difficult because she must pay
someone to watch her children. She also can't speak English --
which is why she now faces eviction.
Hernandez did not understand a letter First Preston sent to
residents of her building, notifying them that the owner of the
building foreclosed on a federal loan. First Preston is contracted
by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Hernandez was given 20 days to secure a place in the building.
HUD spokeswoman Sandi Abadinsky said the agency assumed Hernandez
found a new place when she didn't reply.
Prompted by press inquiries, HUD gave Hernandez a six-month
extension and plans to assign her a Spanish-speaking case manager.
But Hernandez struggles from month-to-month in the apartment she
has currently.
The family gets by on $300 in food stamps and $424 in cash.
Hernandez pays $450 in rent.
The bedroom window doesn't close, the shower is boarded up and
the front door is secured with a ribbon.
None of the fathers of the children provide any support.
Meanwhile, many people in her neighborhood still cheer for
Hernandez and her millennium baby when they're out. Some mistakenly
think she won prize money from a Spanish-language television
station for having one of the first births in 2000, but Hernandez
said she can't even afford to throw a party for her son's first
birthday.
``I feel bad,'' she said. ``Everyone keeps asking if I'm going
to have a party because he was a millennium baby, but I tell people
I can't.''
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