When Maria* and her family contracted Covid-19, her husband Diego* had the severest symptoms and spent four days in the hospital. He could not work while recovering at home and due to open heart surgery, Maria was also not able to work. Their 22-year-old son who helps with household expenses lost three weeks of income while recovering. Faced with medical bills and several unexpected home expenses, coupled with a lack of income, the family needed emergency financial assistance.

Maria struggled to find help, but with the help of a JCFS Financial Assistant, Maria applied for disability support because of her heart condition. Through our Financial Assistance program, JCFS was able to provide three months of rent, two months of food support, a past due car payment and help paying their utility bill.

Maria recently shared this update with our Financial Assistant. “Thank you for helping us when we were going through difficult and stressful times, we can never repay what you did for us. We are grateful that Diego is working again, and everything is getting back to normal.”

*Names changed to protect anonymity