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Her wish list is a short one: "By the time I'm 33 in July 2002, I want to have a car and something toward a house." She has her eye on a 1990 Maxima that a friend might be willing to sell. "Then I could really take my kids and do things."

Black has no doubt her children can be anything they want ­ from a writer to a model or a basketball star ­ and she has no patience for people who are "trifling."

"I want my kids to have a better environment, and to know something besides poverty. I don't care if I have to sit on the corner and sell every inch of my body ­ my children will have what they need. I want to have something to leave my babies."

Asked if she has advice for anyone facing similar struggles, Black doesn't hesitate. "Dry your tears. Put one foot in front of the other. Ask and you will receive. Pray ­ He is alive. Blessings do come every day."

And she has one more word of practical encouragement:

"If you have a roof over your head and canned goods, you can make it." *