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Emily’s world fell apart when her mother died.
If this year you will be celebrating Mother’s Day . . . I’m so glad. Please hold your family tight. There’snogreatergiftthanlove.
Emily knows this to her core. Her mother has always been there for her. Only . . . not this year.
When her mom recently died, Emily, 32, felt the world fall out from under her. Where would she and her daughter live now? How could she possibly work and care for her sweet 4-year-old Ava — who has cerebral palsy — all alone?
As a caring Idahoan, this is where you came in.
You see, Emily had been relying on her mother (her only family) for emotional and financial support and childcare. (Ava’sfatherleftsoonaftershewasborn,payingonly$35inchildsupport.) Losing a parent can be so difficult for anybody. For Emily, it was a double whammy. She lost her mom . . . and her life unraveled.
No longer able to afford the rent on the apartment, Emily was struggling with $25,000 in credit card debt (it can be expensive raising a special needs child) and facing imminent eviction. Emily had to hold back the tears to stay strong for Ava. It’s no wonder Emily was overwhelmed with fear and grief. Knowing she could not possibly expect to be able to do this all by herself, she called Idaho’s 211 emergency line for help. They referred her to a couple of agencies and Catholic Charities of Idaho. CCI was the only one to call Emily back.
There’s no effective safety net for many people in need with special circumstances. Someone like Emily should never have to lose hope . . . or struggle in vain, all alone . . . or fall through the cracks of a broken system. Yes, Emily found CCI — but she still needs help.
Because of you, CCI can help Idaho women like Emily pick up the pieces so they can stay strong and be there for their little ones.
Emily and Ava are not homeless, yet. Let’s keep it that way.
At CCI, we see that every person, every situation is different. We aim to meet each person where they’re at with the kind of acceptance and love that a mother would give to her child. Emily cannot have her mother back in this lifetime . . . but you and I can be there for her and little Ava. And that can make all the difference.
For one thing, we can stop homelessness before it starts in the first place.
You might want to think of how you and CCI fit in here in two different ways: 1.) We approach each person with radicalacceptance and empatheticaccountability. We employ an intensive, comprehensive, wrap-around approach to meet the needs of all our clients like Emily. — AND . . . CCI is one of the few agencies handling cases like Emily’s in Idaho. Or put it this way: 2.) Together with you, we put God’s love into action. Love can take many forms, but the proof of love is in the action. Love in action for Emily and Ava (so far) looks like:
paying a portion of their rent temporarily while
helping Emily make a plan so she can “get her head above water” with housing, employment, debt repayment, and childcare — and then stay that way.
Last Christmas, CCI even stepped in to provide gifts under the tree for Ava. One of those gifts was a tricycle. Emily broke down in tears of joy. She thought there’d be no Christmas. Not for them. (She was gladly wrong, thanks to good people like you.)
The thing is — Emily believes in God . . . but not in herself.
Initially, Emily doubted whether CCI or anyone else could help her. Is this all just a waste of time? she thought. But CCI case workers coached Emily through her understandable doubts.
And when we provided her with pull-up diapers for Ava, Emily lit up with joy. She was so relieved and so very grateful. If you’ve ever been responsible for buying more and more expensive diapers, as fast as they get used up, I’m sure you can relate. For Emily, it was a godsend.
As you can imagine, a single mother in a difficult situation cannot get where she and her daughter need to be overnight. It’s going to take still more time and support.
Yet — thanks to caring, committed people like you who want to be there for their Idaho neighbors in need — Emily has turned a corner . . . and she's now pointed in the right direction. That's half the battle.
The other half of the battle remains to be fought. Emily is in the midst of it now.
Thank you for being there for Emily and Ava, so they can get through this most difficult time as unharmed as possible, stable and productive and ready to carry forward the love and support they have received. Because that’s what happens in a good, strong society. We help our neighbors in need, they get back on their feet, and one day — who knows — maybe they are helping us.
With CCI in her corner, Emily is taking ownership of her life. She is building resilience and gaining perspective. For example --
Wendy, our Program Director, did a simple exercise that involved giving Emily a backpack filled with stones.
First, Wendy had Emily put the heavy backpack on her back.
Then, she asked Emily to remove three stones. In this way, Emily would experience her load becoming lighter.
“Do you feel the difference?” Wendy then asked.
“I do, I feel it,” Emily replied, nodding. You could see the look of realization dawning in her eyes.
That's when Emily understood:it’s the same way with life. It’s wonderful whenever we behold something like this.
And yet we witness this kind of small miracle every day.
I hope you know that when you give to CCI, you are there in these miracle moments. For Emily, each step toward less debt, a better job, and finding care for Ava is like removing a stone from her backpack. Shame and doubt disappear too. Her load is lightened.
These are the kinds of steps a person like Emily takes on the road to new life. Without people like you on their side, it can be almost impossible.
Together, anything is possible.
Your generosity and compassion change lives for good. Your kindness provides the kind of financial support, resources, consultation, and education that lead to true and lasting transformation. The kind of transformation that we so need for our communities and our great state to be good and get better — to live up to our strong ideals rooted in the Gospel.
Thank you for being there and caring about Idaho families in need!
