{"id":375,"date":"2018-07-17T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T07:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/still-on-the-edge\/?p=375"},"modified":"2018-07-17T21:17:29","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T21:17:29","slug":"at-77-dallas-caregiver-cant-retire-nor-does-she-want-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/still-on-the-edge\/2018\/07\/17\/at-77-dallas-caregiver-cant-retire-nor-does-she-want-to\/","title":{"rendered":"At 77, Dallas Caregiver Can’t Retire \u2014 Nor Does She Want To"},"content":{"rendered":"

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the fastest-growing segment of the workforce is people 75 and older. Shirley Martin is one of them. When we met her five years ago, she was a greeter at Walmart, making slightly more than minimum wage. Today, she’s 77\u00a0and manages a group home for adults with disabilities in South Dallas.\u00a0She’s better off financially, but to\u00a0stay that way, she\u00a0works\u00a0full time \u2014 and she has no\u00a0plans to stop.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Shirley Martin, 77, can’t afford to retire, but she doesn’t want to either. Photo: Allison V. Smith<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Wherever Shirley Martin goes, she sizzles.<\/p>\n

Maybe it’s the purple lipstick, or\u00a0the memorable one-liners she leaves on her\u00a0outgoing voicemail:<\/p>\n

“Hard times don’t last always, but good people do.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Or maybe\u00a0it’s the magic she makes in the kitchen. The chicken fajitas she’s cooking smell so good, both residents of the group home where she works have gathered in the next room to wait for the dinner bell. Shirley\u00a0cooks them three meals a day, plus snacks.<\/p>\n

“They love to eat and that’s what I like,\u201d she said. \u201cI love to feed people\u00a0that love to eat.”<\/p>\n

‘I’m still 77 and sexy’<\/h5>\n

For 34 years,\u00a0Martin was a cook at Hockaday, a private all-girls school in Dallas.\u00a0She also catered events and parties. While food is still her great love, she says the job she has now suits her better.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a caregiver for two clients. Sometimes she works every day of the week, spending nights at their homes, too. Sometimes she heads back to her Dallas apartment for the weekend. But she’s not complaining.<\/p>\n

“I think if you just sit around and you don’t have anything to do, you just really fade away,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I’ve just always have been a people person. I love people and I love sharing and caring.”<\/p>\n

Shirley\u00a0keeps the job because she likes it \u2014 but also because she needs it. She doesn’t have a pension or much in savings. And $1,100 a month from Social Security\u00a0won’t pay the bills. The group home caregiver job brings in another $1,300 or so a month.<\/p>\n

She can pay rent, keep the lights on, fill up her car with gas and still have enough left for a night out, or a manicure.<\/p>\n

“I’m in a better spot now. And I’ve learned how to really save and just use what I have to use,\u201d Martin said. \u201cBut I still believe in living and looking good and doing what I have to do for me.<\/p>\n

“I’m still 77 and sexy.”<\/p>\n

Video: Meet Shirley Martin<\/h6>\n