498:. Hilary contracts lead poisoning while living in the housing project while Theresa's landlord evicts her after she complains to the Health Department. Soon they return to the shelter, and Hillary's condition worsens and she collapses in the restroom. At the local hospital, Theresa is told by Hillary's doctor that if she contracts lead poisoning again, it can cause severe health and development problems. Since Theresa and Hillary have been forced to travel between shelters the cause of Hillary's lead poisoning can't be traced. Because of a lack of a steady home, Theresa cannot guarantee Hillary's safety.
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the apartment complex
Theresa and her daughter live in are all notified of their eviction due to the city tearing down the apartments. Theresa has nowhere to go. Theresa clocks out of work early to look for a place for her and her daughter to live, but is fired the next day for leaving early. The two go from
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Theresa
Johnson is a single mother, who was abandoned by her unemployed husband some time after her daughter, Hillary, was born. The two live in a cramped apartment in the inner-city, within walking distance to Hillary's school and a luxury hotel, where Theresa works in housekeeping. The occupants of
505:. Theresa makes the decision to take Hillary to the park and leaves her for Mr. Reed to pick up. Before leaving her, she gives her a heart necklace and tells her that every time she looks at it she should remember that she loves her. When she leaves, Mr. Reed and another
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The
Watkins are a poor African-American family who live in a house not much different from Theresa and Hillary. The father of the family, Raymond Watkins, abandoned the house long ago "because I am worth more to them gone than there" and doesn't pay
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to homeless shelter, trying to find a place to stay. Often they sleep on the streets. At one shelter
Theresa meets outreach worker Calvin Reed, who finds another place for Theresa to stay, while she receives
461:, directed by Lary Elikann. It depicts the struggles and sacrifices of a single mother, Theresa Johnson (played by Mare Winningham), in hope of a better life for her daughter, Hillary (Grace Johnston).
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Theresa consults Mr. Reed and concludes that the only way
Hillary can live a healthy, normal life, free from poverty, is by giving her up. The only way this can happen immediately is if Hillary is
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491:. The son, Richard Watkins, hopes to break the cycle of poverty that has plagued their family, by being the first person in their family to graduate from high school.
479:. The house is filthy and infested with rats. Theresa and Hillary settle into their new home, and the life of their neighboring family, the Watkins, is explored.
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Before the credits start, the statement "32.5 million people live in poverty in the United States, today. 13 million of them are children." is shown.
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