Overview

Our goal is to get past the temporary crisis caused by my baby's stroke last year, which required 4 months' hospitalization. The costs have caused my husband to drop to part-time employment and me to lose my job. We need a bed for my husband to sleep in so he can rest enough to get a second job, and we need clothes for him for work and clothes for the kids for school. If we get these things my husband and I can begin to focus on getting work and rebuilding our lives together as a family.

My 1-year-old baby daughter was unexpectedly hospitalized last year with a stroke for 4 months. Taking care of her and my 3 other kids caused my husband to have his job reduced to part-time and me to lose my job and quit school. We were forced to move out of our apartment and lost almost everything after a flood destroyed our belongings in storage. Medical costs and special care have taken any spare money we have, so we have not been able to buy school clothes for our other two older kids. Right now my biggest challenge is just taking care of our children on just my husband's reduced income.  My daughter's condition is improving and my husband's goal is to get a second job but he has no bed to sleep on so he can't rest properly at night. My goal is to go back to school and finish my studies to become an LPN or an RN. Helping us meet our need will allow us to be able to better focus on these goals so that we can have a better life for our family.

My husband and I have been together for 7 years. We have 4 kids including a newborn at home. I was studying to bercome an RN or LPN, while working part-time. My husband was working 2 jobs to help pay all the bills. Last year, our 1-year-old baby daughter, who has Down Syndrome, was unexpectedly hospitalized with a stroke for 4 months. Taking care of her and my 3 other kids caused my husband to have his employment reduced to one part-time job and me to lose my job and quit school. We were forced to move out of our apartment and lost almost everything after a flood destroyed our belongings in storage. Our older 2 kids are enrolled in school, but medical costs and special care have taken any spare money we have, so we have not been able to buy school clothes for them, relying on donations of worn-out items. Right now my biggest challenge is just taking care of our children on just my husband's reduced income. 

Validated

Validated by Patrina from Infant Welfare Society of Evanston (What does this mean?)

I have known Layla and her family over a year now. We met when I took over the position of Family Support Specialist at Infant Welfare Society of Evanston. Meeting this need is important for them because Layla and her husband have been working extremely hard, despite desperate circumstrances, to take care of their family and keep them together. She has a daughter who has Down Syndrome (who had a stroke), a newborn, and two other school-age children. The family was thrown off-track last year when her daughter had a stroke; the medical situation caused Layla to abandon plans to go back to work and affected her husband's employment also. Meeting this need will help them move their lives forward by preparing her husband and her to go back into the workforce and for her to resume school to get her degree as an LPN or RN. It will also help their kids to have decent clothes for school

About Patrina

I have been working at Infant Welfare Society of Evanston since February 13, 2012. My job is Family Support Specialist - I go into the family's home and work with them on goals for their family. As part of achieving their goals they may need services beyond what our organization may offer. At that… Read more