When the federal shutdown sent shockwaves through millions of American households, Zuri Crawford stood right at the center of the storm. But she didn’t crumble. She recalibrated, strategized, prayed, persevered and kept moving.

Zuri is a 20-year-old nursing student, single mother, and survivor of domestic violence. She’s involved in SPARC (Student Parents Are Reimagining CalWORKs), and has big plans.

Listen to Zuri talk about the federal shutdown on Instagram or TikTok.

Zuri relies on CalFresh benefits as she builds her future. CalFresh (called SNAP nutrition assistance at the federal level) provides support for food, to help Zuri feed herself and her one-year-old son, Baby Z. When the shutdown threatened to halt food assistance, she feared a familiar kind of scarcity, the kind she has been outrunning her whole life. 

“I have to push through,” she said. “But I am going to be overwhelmed.” Yet when the moment arrived, her benefits came through at the last minute. It didn’t erase the uncertainty, but it offered a breath, one she had been holding far too long.

Read the LA Times Story featuring Zuri.

Zuri didn’t have the luxury of stability growing up. She bounced between homes across Los Angeles and Riverside counties, navigating what she describes as “trauma after trauma.” But even then, she refused to let hardship harden her. Instead, it sharpened her drive. Becoming a teen mom didn’t derail her ambitions, it focused them. Today, she’s in her second semester in college, working her way toward a nursing career. Her days are a tight weave of classes, UberEats shifts, childcare, and resource runs to keep her small family afloat.

She doesn’t receive financial support from family or a partner. What she does have is determination and the courage to build something steady from the ground up.

I know that if I keep on working hard, if I keep on persevering through all the hardships, I’m going to be OK.

Zuri crawford

When she learned her food benefits might not arrive this month, Zuri didn’t panic. She planned. She considered dropping two classes. She looked into taking a second job as a caregiver. She reorganized every resource she had: CalFresh, CalWORKS, WIC, grocery gift cards from her college, the local food pantry, community support. Two months ago, thanks to a county housing program, she and Baby Z moved into their first real home — a one-bedroom apartment she works tirelessly to maintain. Her $900 CalWORKS check goes to rent, utilities, and her phone bill. Her UberEats earnings? Mostly gas money.

Still, Zuri finds ways to give. She devotes a portion of her food budget to cooking meals for the homeless. Her Christian faith, she says, keeps her grounded and grateful.

When Zuri checked her card and saw her benefits had arrived, her reaction was pure, unfiltered relief. “I’m super shocked,” she laughed. “I feel relieved. I just feel happy.”

Shutdowns may shake the nation. Policies may shift overnight. But Zuri Crawford; nursing student, mom, survivor, dream-builder, keeps showing up.

Zuri wants others to lead with empathy and choose support over hate. 

Through everything, Zuri keeps providing. Keeps rising. And through every challenge, she keeps breathing forward.

Find out more: 

• Read the full LA Times article
• Follow Zuri on Instagram (@lifewithzuric)

Learn more about SPARC