Our first 2023 CMM Cares family is a family who are natives of Haiti and residents of Westbury, NY for many years. The matriarch of the family is Maude, is a mother of 3, who lost her middle son in 2018 at the age of 6 to health conditions. Months after losing her son, her husband suffered a stroke and was put in a nursing home for a few months. He’s since regained some of his health and recently suffered a second stroke, returned to Haiti and his extended family and is now living in Florida, leaving the challenges of raising their children to her alone. Maude works around the clock to care for her family taking on multiple shifts and jobs as a home health aide. She also manages the services for her youngest daughter’s learning, speech and auditory disabilities and supports her oldest daughter as she continues overcome post COVID anxiety returning to middle school. Her daughter has become such an incredible help with caring for things at home, and Maude is lucky that her mother moved from Haiti a few years ago to help her at home, as well.
While she juggles the challenges of her immediate family here on Long Island, she also feels the weight of the struggles her extended family faces back in Haiti and sends support she can spare to assist them as well. As the sole provider for her, the girls and her mom, Maude has been a great steward of her finances, building up a small savings thanks to her hard work and her ability to manage expenses and the government programs for families in need during the pandemic. The family lives on very little and have learned to live without items many of us would consider necessities. Most recently, her landlord decided they no longer wanted to rent out the small, shared basement apartment and the family was forced to find a new rental. With the goal of staying within the same school district and the challenge of staying within her small budget, Maude has since successfully secured another shared apartment for their family. It’s a safe, albeit small, place for her family while she continues to save for their forever home. Her dreams are set on owning a house where her kids can play outdoors, have friends over and enjoy more space.
To help Maude reach that dream, our CMM Cares Support Plan has aimed to alleviate expenses and allow Maude to save for their future. This year we have been able to step in provide this family with necessities they have been living without and struggling to afford. After moving into their new apartment, we arranged for the family to head to Bob’s Discount Furniture to help furnish and create a comfortable and nurturing environment. Having your own brand-new basic furniture makes a huge difference – to lay your head on your own new bed at night, to put your clothes away in a dresser. All members of the family now have new beds, mattresses, and dressers of their own. A first for all of them and something that has made them feel “cared for.” The organization also covered her eldest daughter, Abigail’s orthodonture balance, yet another monthly fee weighing heavily on the family. Additionally, we have pledged to cover one year of car insurance premiums and supplied the family with grocery gift cards. These gifts have been life changing for Maude, allowing her to have the ability to take care of other expenses that were often thought of as unreachable and some peace of mind!
If you’re interested in helping us support this family with in-kind donations, and financial support for our plans, or if you know local businesses that may be interested in participating, please contact Victoria at vtringone@cmmcares.org.
