text: A Chicago single mother has revealed what it's really like to live on McDonald's wages, where she makes only $10.50 an hour and can only afford to sleep in a moldy basement. Adriana Alvarez, 22, says that even with assistance from food stamps, Medicaid, and a child care subsidy, she is barely getting by, despite having worked for McDonald's for five years. Alvarez is a leader with Fight For $15, an international movement to raise minimum wage laws and acquire the right to unionize. She said her pay used to be even lower before she and fellow employees of the fast food chain began to protest. Scroll down for video . Single mother Adriana Alvarez, 22, has revealed what it's really like to live on McDonald's wages, where she makes only $10.50 an hour and can only afford to sleep in a moldy basement in Chicago . Alvarez (pictured with her three-year-old son Manny) says that even with assistance from food stamps, Medicaid, and a child care subsidy, she is barely getting by, despite having word for McDonald's for five years . The mother revealed in a column for Refinery29 that the first thing she would do with an increased wage would be to find a 'decent place to live' with good schools for her three-year-old son Manny. 'When it rains, water steeps into the apartment,' Alvarez writes of her basement home, the only place she said she can afford. 'This wetness brings mold, and I can't get rid of the smell. We can’t even leave anything on the floor... toys or anything else on the floor may get ruined when the water comes in.' Alvarez said that, after paying for 'child care, transportation to work, food, rent, and our other basic expenses,' she can never afford to give anything else to her son. 'Every time I think about taking Manny somewhere fun, like to a movie, I have to think about whether we can really afford the gas,' she writes. The mother said even providing the specific milk her son, who drinks 'a half-gallon every two days', requires because of his lactose intolerance can be a struggle. Since it's a more expensive brand, it uses up most of the $80 Alvarez is allotted in food stamps, she told the New York Times. Alvarez said her situation is not unique. She said that most of her co-workers are 'in the same boat', forced to rely on government assistance 'no matter how long they've held their jobs'. According to one study cited in Business Insider, half of the nation's fast food workers require some kind of government assistance, costing taxpayers $7billion a year. Alvarez is a leader with Fight For $15, an international movement to raise minimum wage laws and acquire the right to unionize. She said her pay used to be even lower before she and fellow employees began protesting . Last year more than 100 McDonald's employees, including Alvarez, who were part of Fight For $15 were arrested after they protested a McDonald's shareholder meeting to demand the $15 an hour wage . And $1.2billion of that public assistance goes to employees of McDonald's annually, reported a study released by the National Employment Law Project. Just weeks ago, McDonald's announced that it would be giving a $1 pay raise for about 90,000 employees, effectively making their wage $10 an hour. But the raise only applies to employees who work in restaurants owned by the corporation. Restaurants operated by independent franchise workers were ineligible for the wage bump, which Alvarez said disqualifies nine out of 10 McDonald's employees. And, even for those who do get an increased wage, Alvarez argues that the number would 'hardly going to lift any working family out of poverty'. And higher wages aren't all Alvarez and her co-workers are fighting for. She said Fight For $15 is also protesting for the ability to form a union 'without interference from management'. A group of protesters in New York stage a die-in as part of a day of rallies and protests by fast-food workers known as 'Fight for $15 on April 15' Fight For $15 (pictured protesting on Wednesday) started two years ago in New York, when hundreds of fast food workers went on strike the day after Thanksgiving . Alvarez writes that she needs a union to help negotiate sick days, which she said she is currently not provided with, costing her a day's worth of wages when she has to stay home if her son is ill. Fight For $15 started two years ago in New York City, when hundreds of fast food workers went on strike the day after Thanksgiving. The movement staged rallies across the country yesterday in honor of 'Fight for $15 on April 15'. Last year more than 100 McDonald's employees, including Alvarez, who were part of Fight For $15 were arrested after they protested a McDonald's shareholder meeting to demand a wage raise. There has been some change. Seattle and San Francisco have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and a ballot campaign began in Washington, D.C. this week to initiate the same change. But Alvarez hope she will get to see change in her own life soon. 'It doesn't seem right that people who work with children or who serve food aren't paid enough to support their own kids or put food on their own table,' she writes. 'We want our families to be able to look forward to a better future.' There has been some change. Seattle and San Francisco have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and a ballot campaign began in Washington, D.C. this week to initiate the same change .
target: Adriana Alvarez, 22, makes $10.50 an hour and must rely on food stamps, Medicaid and a child care subsidy to get by with her three-year-old son .
  She said water seeps into her apartment when it rains and she loses a day of wages when her son is ill because she doesn't get sick days .
  Alvarez is a leader with Fight for $15, an international movement to raise minimum wage laws and acquire the right to unionize .
  Half of the nation's fast food workers require some kind of government assistance, according to a recent study .