Natalie Cole, right, her boyfriend and four children lived in a bedroom of a friend’s apartment until she and the friend argued. From left are boyfriend Juan Sena, goddaughter Yolanda and son Gemini.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole's children play in the driveway, seen through a gate, at the building where the family lived for a time. “My mother struggled, my grandma struggled and I am struggling,” she says.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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On Christmas Eve, Cole’s youngest son, Jaylyn, 2, gets treatment for a severe asthma attack at Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole brushes her son Gemini's hair as her oldest boy, Peter, 12, plays with her goddaughter Yolanda.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole gives Gemini a kiss. She has received a license to work as a security guard and hopes jobs she gets will help the family escape the grip of poverty.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole walks with three of her four children to the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in Compton.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Struggling with diabetes, Cole gets a checkup at a Compton clinic. Her blood sugar was high and the nurse set up a physical, but Cole didn’t go, fearing bad news.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole's daughter Destiny, 10, tries to cheer up Jaylyn after a medical checkup at a clinic in Compton.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole and Sena juggle food for their children on the Metro Blue Line as the family heads to Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Gemini stares out the window on the Blue Line on the way to the hospital. He had been suffering from a serious rash. Medical issues add to the family's woes.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Her two youngest children in a double stroller, Cole negotiates a Metro platform after a visit to the hospital. With no car, the family relies heavily on public transportation.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole has a meal on the stairwell outside a friend’s apartment where she and her family lived for a time. With her are boyfriend Juan Sena, left, and son Peter.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole, with Jaylyn, goes through all the family's belongings on the front porch of her mother's Compton home. They bagged their possessions to move them down the street to an apartment that Cole rented for $800 a month.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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After living in a cramped bedroom of a friend’s apartment, Cole rejoices in the space offered by the apartment she got in Compton.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole, in relief and joy, embraces Sena after learning that they had gotten the new one-bedroom apartment.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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Cole is adamant about keeping the new apartment they have rented.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
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