{"id":376,"date":"2016-08-29T19:01:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T19:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/debt\/?p=376"},"modified":"2016-10-04T21:20:29","modified_gmt":"2016-10-04T21:20:29","slug":"chipping-away-at-a-mountain-of-unpaid-child-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/debt\/2016\/08\/29\/chipping-away-at-a-mountain-of-unpaid-child-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Chipping Away At A Mountain Of Unpaid Child Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people are working to pay down something: a mortgage, a credit card balance, a car note. Th<\/em>ere\u2019s another kind of debt, too \u2014 an account that\u2019s fallen behind. Back taxes, child support, an old cellphone bill. They\u2019re called delinquencies. They can wreck a credit score and stick around for years.<\/em><\/p>\n

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AAA\u00a0Data Communications in southern Dallas is a quiet place to work.\u00a0Angelo Collins likes it that way.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s alone in a small office filled with boxes. Inside each one are validators for Dallas Area Rapid Transit busses. They\u2019re basically wireless \u201ceasy-pay consoles\u201d for riders to use.\u00a0Collins programs each one, downloading software and repacking the box once the device is ready to go.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a full-time job with benefits that pays $18 an hour — money Collins is grateful to have. He\u2019s working to become debt free after getting divorced last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to kind of regroup myself and mentally prepare myself to put things back in order,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Programmer

Programmer Angelo Collins fell back on child support after taking a year to focus on his education. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

Collins has two teenagers. He and his wife were separated for several years before the divorce was finalized. Child support bills piled up while he worked and went to school.<\/p>\n

In 2014, he took on a full course load studying electronics and telecommunications.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just concentrated on school for that one year, so that kind of dropped me, put me back on child support,” he said.<\/p>\n

Collins fell $6,000 behind. He\u2019s back to making payments now, but hates the pile of debt with his name on it.<\/p>\n

He illustrates his point by standing a pen on top of his desk, and dragging it slowly across the surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say this is a mountain, and it has your name attached to it,” he explains. “In nowadays that we live in, that stays on your name. Wherever you move, that moves with you, that same mountain. You pull that mountain behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to kind of regroup myself and mentally prepare myself to put things back in order.\u201d
Angelo Collins<\/div>
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\"Programmer

Programmer Angelo Collins works on transit validators\u00a0for DART. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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Constantly Catching Up<\/h5>\n

His financial coach at Catholic Charities Fort Worth<\/a> is helping him chip away at that mountain, so it\u2019s a little easier to pull.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey give me advice in all phases of my life. Stressful, financial, employment, all sorts of direction and support,” he said. “They kind of provide that outlet to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alisha Wilkinson is a case manager with Catholic Charities and says many clients are working on accounts that are past due.<\/p>\n

\u201cDebt such as back taxes that you owe, you could have unpaid balances on different services that you had, whether that\u2019s your electric, your cable bill, your gas bill,” she said. “You could owe a balance to an apartment or a house you used to rent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many folks who go to\u00a0Catholic Charities are just like Collins — people trying to catch up on child support, which doesn’t stop accruing when someone fails to pay.<\/p>\n\n

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