On Saturday, March 21st I received a call that I'd been dreading for years: my mother Maria Elena Juvanet had passed away in Miami, FL. She had had heart surgery last October and was my only living relative. She'd had a minor car accident that afternoon and, after getting worked up discussing it with the other driver, she was on her way back to her vehicle when she collapsed and could not be resuscitated at Kendall Regional Hospital. She was 67 years old.

I live in New York state, which is on lockdown, and I'm a film publicist that has been working on a freelance basis for various festivals (and shouldering the expense of moving to a new city every 3-4 months to be involved in different ones) for a few years now. With the coronavirus stay-in-place order I can't leave Brooklyn to make her arrangements, and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to afford this unexpected expense. My mother was recovering relatively well from her heart procedure last fall and I'm completely blindsided by her passing.

My mother raised me on her own since I was 4 years old, and was by all accounts the hardest-working and most generous person there was. Maria Elena came to the U.S. from Cuba in the late 80s, was delayed in being able to get her education for her first ten years in the country while awaiting resident status, and then experienced a series of career setbacks that left her with very little in her final years--but growing up I never lacked for anything and I saw time and time again how willing she was to help anyone in need, from co-workers to classmates of mine to the new friends she'd make anywhere she went. She was never prosperous but she gave of her time and attention like no one I've known, and sometimes I wouldn't hear about the things she'd done for people for years.

We didn't have other family, but she treated everyone she encountered as if she were theirs, and she treated me in such a way where I can't imagine not laying her to rest in the way she deserves.  My mom called me daily to know what I ate and wore, knew the names of everyone in my orbit and pretended to care about movies because she was proud of me following my interests wherever they took me. She was quick-witted and stylish, and indifferent to pop culture: she once saw my novelty Agent Dana Scully FBI badge hanging from my door when she visited me and mistakenly thought I was leaving my work ID behind. She loved to tell me that "you couldn't have a bad day with a good attitude." In short, she was my rock, the love of my life, and I'm gutted at her loss, especially in a moment when I can't be there with her.

I know there are so many worthy causes to donate to in such a turbulent time but any help I could receive to arrange for her burial (even though I can't physically be present for it--she won't even get to have a service) would mean the world to me.

Thank you for your consideration and for sharing this link if you do. Still finalizing the cost of the cemetery she will be buried in, as we are trying to put her next to her mother (my grandmother). Here is a rough breakdown of the other costs:

Funeral Home Services (embalming, transport, payment to funeral director & staff, utility vehicle): $1825.00
Casket: $1995.00
3-4 months of payments on storage unit (until I can travel to Miami to pick up her belongings): $1168
Approx. cost of mausoleum: $4000-6000
Shipping costs of belongings found in my mother's car/on her person at the time of the accident: $100-300