“Doreen” came to us at the beginning of April. She supported her family on a service job salary and, under normal circumstances, they were comfortable. When her place of employment was shut down due to the ‘Stay at Home’ orders, she lost her family’s sole income. Due to the nature of her job, unemployment wasn’t an immediate option for her. When she called to schedule her first phone appointment, she was scared and overwhelmed. She had never in her life been out of work. “How am I going to afford diapers, formula and food for my children? What will happen when rent comes due?” These are questions our case managers have become accustomed to hearing over the last several months. But, they never tire of responding with compassion and understanding.
For Doreen, we encouraged her to visit our food bank, where she would not only receive a bounty of fresh produce, meat and dairy (thanks to our generous community who have kept our pantry stocked!) she would also receive diapers, formula and baby food. As for rent, we were able to verify her landlord and develop a plan to get her through until either unemployment became available or she went back to work.
Unfortunately, Doreen’s place of employment decided to shut down permanently. It was yet another scary moment when Doreen received notification that she would no longer have a job. But, Doreen is a fighter. She didn’t need any direction from us to head out and find another job. We are happy to report that after two months of trying, she has procured new employment and is only days away from receiving her first paycheck in several months! She was so excited to call and tell us she no longer needed our help! We couldn’t be happier to find out we may never talk with her again (unless of course it is just to check in and say ‘hello’!).
We are beginning to see successes like Doreen’s in the corners of our assistance world. As things slowly open up and life returns to a “new normal” we pray that Doreen’s story will eventually be everyone’s story. We know we have a long way to go; there are still so many out of work or very far behind after months of no pay. But, we hope we are seeing a little glimmer of a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for continuing to support us as we walk alongside our neighbors in need.