34. Why do Jeannette’s parents reject welfare or charity?

From the text:

Although we were the poorest family on Little Hobart Street, Mom and Dad never applied for welfare or food stamps, and they always refused charity. When teachers gave us bags of clothes from church drives, Mom made us take them back. "We can take care of our own," Mom and Dad liked to say. "We don't accept handouts from anyone."
If things got tight, Mom kept reminding us that some of the other kids on Little Hobart Street had it tougher than we did.