“I was forced to have [my daughter]. I was forced to conceive her, so it wasn’t something that I wanted because I was already a single parent with [two toddlers]. I was barely making it with them. Having a third child I felt was going to be too much because I could barely provide for…

“I am from Brazil, and I married a US citizen. I had some difficult times with him… domestic violence. Truly, it was very difficult for me, but I always put God first. I went to a shelter who first helped me. Many times in the shelter I cried. Many times in my car I cried.…

“I’d like to tell a story—a story of hardship. And I’m just thankful, when I reached out to some community friends—one being Miss Rosa and her team at Catholic Charities—they helped me through my hardship. They’ve seen me through my rough times. Now I’m able to sustain myself and live normal once again. I thank…

“When I was working in the financial department, there was a gentleman who called in—he was a veteran, and he was blind—and we were able to provide him services because he was not able to meet the needs of his house for paying his bills. We thought we had exhausted all funds, but in the…