Jay grew up in the Philippines and met her husband 18 years ago when she was very young. They were together for a few years, got married and then moved to the US. She became the step mother to his 2 children from a previous marriage and raised them as well as her own 3 children. They had a seemingly happy home but in 2017 stress and challenges pushed him to seek drugs to cope with what seemed overwhelming. Then in 2019, wanting a divorce he went back to the Philippines before a divorce was finalized and in a tragic turn of events he was murdered while he was there.
Jay was left with thousands of dollars of debt from credit cards he opened, with 5 children to care for and in the aftermath of his death she found out she was 16 weeks pregnant with their littlest. Her life was turned upside down - but this didn’t paralyze her, it made her dig deep and work harder than you’d think is possible. She began working three jobs to try to keep the roof over their heads. She has been working at night for 4 years now and they barely make it each month but they are still standing.
We met her at Maintenance for Moms as she was referred when a coworker saw she was having to walk to work every night and her kids to school. We are thankful we were able to get her car into the shop asap and fix the issues so that she can continue to work to care for her family.
“Almost 3 years of struggling on/off with anxiety after my husband passed away, after he left us with all of these responsibilities - I have no idea how I’m able to make it everyday but as long as God always wake me up in the morning, I’m still lucky because He gave me a chance to live for my children. Life is hard but surround yourself with those people that give you support, not only financially but emotionally and mentally; understanding your situation. I’m not the only one with a problem, so I have to continue and sacrifice for my children and stand for them.
I’m so happy and grateful for the helped that I received from Maintenance for Moms, an early Christmas gift for the me and my children this cold winter month [to be able to drive rather than walk where we need to go]. Thank you!”
