While everyone complains about entitlement programs and people living on welfare, there is one group of people who have completely fallen through the cracks of society: single parents of children who have died.

There are no programs to help with finding work, paying bills until a job can be found, or housing. The most commonly heard phrase is, "I am sorry for your loss, but there is nothing we can do for you. You should have been planning and saving for this."

One and a half years ago the doctors told me to quit work to take care of my terminally ill daughter. Two months ago, my 8-year-old lost her four-year battle with cancer. She was my only child. For the last two months, I have put in applications everywhere that I can find that is hiring. So far, I have not found any type of work.

While there are support groups for the grief, nothing is available for the day-to-day needs. With the economy being what it is there are more people than jobs, and no one is willing to take a risk and hire someone who has not worked in over a year. They do not look at why you have not worked, just that you have not held a job.