Survival Through Sisterhood
Embedded Files
Jacob Spetzler
Team Cobb
Story Summary
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Carolyn Allen and her sister, Shirley Allen, have experienced almost constant uncertainty. They’ve faced housing insecurity, imprisonment, addiction and grief through the deaths of loved ones. They get through the day with family, faith and a large dose of humor.
Shirley, who faces debilitating physical and mental health issues, is working to create a home in a camper a relative found for her. Carolyn, the caregiver of their expansive family, pitches in with rides, cleaning and mowing lawns. She does much of the work to make Shirley’s camper livable. As Carolyn keeps the family glued together, Shirley offers humor amid the challenges they face.
Shirley, left, and her sister, Carolyn clean out a camper that Shirley plans to live in at Countryside RV Park. The camper was abandoned, filled with garbage and coated in black mold. The sisters can't afford a new piece of plywood, so Carolyn has been routinely pouring bleach and scrubbing the board to rid it of mold.
Carolyn stretches her legs while helping her sister clean a camper at Countryside RV Park. She has been helping repair the camper for six weeks.
Carolyn counts change to buy oven cleaner. She doesn't want to spend any quarters minted in 1960, her birth year, so she uses her phone light to examine the date on each coin.
Shirley, left, walks from Menards hardware story as her sister, Carolyn, unlocks the door to her van. The pair bought mold sealant to paint onto black mold infested plywood in the RV they are cleaning out.
Carolyn counts money in Menards hardware story to find out if she has enough to pay for mold sealant. Shirley bought cigarettes the day before for $5 but used an ATM with a fee of $3. Money was tight but the sisters were able to make their purchase.
Shirley smokes a cigarette behind her brother's trailer at Countryside RV Park. Shirley has two sons, both of whom are currently serving prison sentences in Springfield, Mo. "My kids are my best friends," she said. "They’re my everything. I love 'em. I miss them.”
Shirley walks to the bathroom at Countryside RV Park. Shirley is able to afford living in the park, where rent is $500 per month, including utilities.
Shirley Allen smokes a cigarette outside her sister's van while they wait for coffee at the Wendy's drive-through. Most mornings, Shirley's sister picks her up from Countryside RV Park, and the two drive to the fast food chain to buy coffee on a senior discount: 25 cents a cup.
Shirley Allen, right, wipes her brow while her sister, Carolyn Allen, cleans the ventilation hood of Shirley's new camper. Carolyn said that when she first started cleaning the hood it was filled with dormant wasp nests.
Carolyn Allen cleaning her sister's camper. When her sister first got the camper, it had been abandoned and was filled with mold, garbage and dormant wasp nests. Carolyn has been cleaning the camper for several months while also taking care of her family members in Sedalia and Springfield.
Shirley Allen smokes a cigarette and drinks a cup of coffee outside the emergency room at University Hospital in Columbia, Mo. Allen experiences nerve pain through her body. She copes humor, nicotine and caffeine.
Brian Kratzer, Co-Director
Alyssa Schukar, Co-Director
Hany Hawasly, Technical Director
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