I work in mall retail and have noticed that a lot more people are shoplifting in desperation, the majority of them victims of the recession. Many of them are regulars who never acted this way before. Most of them are single parents trying to get something to keep their child happy through these difficult times. There has been an increase of families that use the mall as a kind of "tent city" during the day. By the middle of November the number of shoplifting attempts increased to the point where parents had trained their youngsters to shoplift as a team and unbelievably even multiple parent-child operations such as sisters or immediate family units. Out of all the shoplifters, it seems that most are crystal meth addicts that are highly persistent and blatantly obvious, making multiple attempts in a short amount of time within a span of consecutive days. I’ve even learned new yet very obvious techniques from watching them. At first it was somewhat entertaining and an interesting insight into human behavior, but over time it has made me increasing vigilant, blunt, and impolite at times. I understand why they might do something like this, but there are a lot of those that do hang out at the mall all day and behave themselves. What is interesting is that a lot of the shoplifters who are clearly in a bad way, drug-wise and/or homeless seem to be the materialistic types with the fancy clothes, hand bag, etc. On the other hand those who seem to be the non-status symbol types are the ones that don’t steal. The other workers tell me, "well if the company cared, they would give us better security cameras, etc." I have a big problem with wrongdoers that attempt things behind my back, thinking i’m stupid. It has become a waste of my time now and has made me behave in a way no one should during the holidays and towards those less fortunate. I do feel for them, but their behavior is driving me insane.
The shoplifters seem to be complete beginners because they never had to act this way before. I am pretty well versed in shoplifting methods and it doesn’t even get to the point where they get the chance to pocket it in the first place. At this point everyone who had anything to spend seemed to blow it all on Thanksgiving dinner and Black friday sales. A majority will probably even wait after xmas or the new year to spend again. The mall is pretty empty and the only ones willing to step into the store are the "zombie looking" meth heads. Today, I’ve noticed that the women have been spraying alot of perfume on themselves, which may mean that they are no longer have access to a shower or bath.

Government grants for single mothers provide the extra help which is needed by these mothers in their difficult times. The life of single mothers is already very difficult with long working hours, household chores, children’s’ upbringing and education etc. In between all these, they spend their life trying to make the ends meet and they often forget to live a happy life.

Federal government of United States accepts the troubles of these single moms. That is why the government set aside millions of dollars in the form of grant every year to help single moms. And the best part about these grants is that they don’t have to be paid back to the government. You just have to be entitled for the grant and you get the money. But the regrettable part is that very few women are aware of these grants, let alone applying for them.

The variety of types of grants available for single moms contain educational grants for single moms, grants to run small business etc. These educational grants are very helpful for single moms because they can be used in two ways. They can either go back to school to complete their studies or they can go for higher studies to improve their skills which would help them lift the standard of living for themselves and their kids.

The best place for looking for these grants is the internet. There are various websites dedicated to grants for single mothers. You can also check the government’s website on grants which has all details about grants along with eligibility criteria and application procedures.

This will help you find a appropriate grant for yourself. In addition to the government grants, various non-profit and private agencies also provide similar grants. You should do some research online and know about these too. It is always better to spend some time researching them before actually applying for the select ones.

The author suggests articles on grants including College scholarships for single mothers and financial aid for single mothers.