“Back in August, I was going through a hard time—I was on a medical leave—so my income got cut by 40 percent, and I just got behind on bills. I had been paying what I could with what I had. Getting cut by 40 percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you have bills, 40 percent is a lot, so I just ended up having to reach out for assistance for me and my three children.

I’ve always been a person who tries to make a way out of no way, so I would have probably figured something else out, but the assistance definitely helped me. I can definitely say it took a load off my shoulders at that time, so I’m grateful for it. I’m in a good space now. I’m just back on my feet doing what I need to do, and things are running smoothly. Everything isn’t peaches n cream, but it’s definitely a lot better than it was four months ago, so I’m in a really good space right now.

[Grisell] was really reaching out—memory is something I deal with, which is part of the reason I was on the medical leave—so her reaching out let me know y’all are really caring about people. By her reaching out, I was able stay up on what I needed to stay up on. Y’all really do care. She was like, ‘Hey! Just making sure you’re ok, just checking in,’ so I’m like, ‘I’m ok! Thank you!’ It definitely showed you care about the people y’all are helping. It was a wonderful experience.”

Raiesha called @hfuw‘s 2-1-1 line, and they referred her case to Catholic Charities of Central Florida, where she was assisted by the Family Stability Program.