--- title: Bernie Sanders Iowa Event Features Woman Telling of Poverty description: Sanders held a town hall event in Iowa Falls Monday morning where a woman shared her experience living on minimum wage. canonical: https://time.com/4193098/bernie-sanders-iowa-rally/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-25T21:16:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:25:38.121Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch a Woman Tell Bernie Sanders Her Tearful Story of Living in Poverty og:description: She shared what it's like to live on less than $10,000 a year og:url: https://time.com/4193098/bernie-sanders-iowa-rally/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f8979302c5c65c6/69887a88cf40a881bac41a16/gettyimages-506724584.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Holds Iowa Campaign Stops og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch a Woman Tell Bernie Sanders Her Tearful Story of Living in Poverty twitter:description: She shared what it's like to live on less than $10,000 a year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f8979302c5c65c6/69887a88cf40a881bac41a16/gettyimages-506724584.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch a Woman Tell Bernie Sanders Her Tearful Story of Living in Poverty by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 25, 2016 9:16 PM UTC  Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks during an event in Iowa Falls, Iowa, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016\. With a week to go until the Iowa caucuses and the Democratic presidential race there in a virtual dead heat, Hillary Clinton and Sanders are mapping out divergent paths toward winning the first votes of the nomination process. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, speaks during an event in Iowa Falls, Iowa, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 25, 2016\. With a week to go until the Iowa caucuses and the Democratic presidential race there in a virtual dead heat, Hillary Clinton and Sanders are mapping out divergent paths toward winning the first votes of the nomination process.Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 25, 2016 9:16 PM UTC A woman [gave an emotional account](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/01/25/a-remarkably-moving-thing-happened-at-a-bernie-sanders-rally-today-in-iowa/?tid=sm%5Ffb) of trying to get by on minimum wage to a crowd at a [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/4188306/why-bernie-sanders-revolution-needs-a-second-act/) event in Iowa on Monday. Sanders held a town hall in Iowa Falls on Monday morning and asked if anyone in the crowd would share their experience living off of $12,000 a year. That’s when the woman spoke up, detailing her struggle living on less than $10,000 a year—despite having an education and steady employment. “It’s so hard to do anything to pay your bills, you’re ashamed all the time… when you can’t buy presents for your children it’s really really really hard,” she told the crowd. “And I work 3, 4, 5 jobs sometimes, always minimum wage, I have a degree, divorced and it’s just I’m waiting for disability to come through so my parents have to support me—it’s just hard. The crowed cheered her on and Sanders thanked her for sharing her story. “It is not easy for people to stand up and say that but the truth is that until millions of people who are experiencing what you’re experiencing do say that we don’t make change,” Sanders said. 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