I met Joy Bianco at a bus stop outside the Greenport 7-Eleven. She was waiting in the freezing cold with a metal utility cart full of clothes with a small dog perched on top. She was exhausted, quiet, and clearly carrying more than most people ever should. I stopped to talk. What she shared was one of the most heartbreaking and resilient life stories I’ve ever heard. Joy is not homeless by choice. She is a caregiver caught in an impossible situation.

Throughout her life, Joy has worked in catering, retail, counseling, maintenance, security, road construction, and eventually Amazon. While working at Amazon, she was seriously injured after being knocked off a ladder, leaving her unable to continue physical work. A lawyer is helping her pursue disability, but the process is slow and unresolved. As if that weren’t enough, Joy’s brother passed away, leaving behind a young daughter. Joy’s niece now attends school on the North Fork and is being raised by Joy’s mother, whose health has declined and now requires a caregiver. Joy became the bridge holding everything together.

When Joy was a teenager, she gave birth to a baby boy who was born with a severe and rare heart condition, dilated cardiomyopathy. He spent long periods on life support, endured multiple surgeries, and still lives with advanced heart failure today. To better understand his condition and advocate for him, Joy returned to school, studying psychology, social work, and eventually pre-med at Stony Brook. She learned to read echocardiograms and ultrasounds, working closely with cardiology teams while raising a critically ill child.

Every day, Joy takes buses back and forth across Long Island with her dog to care for her mother and niece. She receives just a small amount each week for this caregiving, and her mother qualifies for only limited professional aide support. Joy cannot take a full-time job without abandoning her family, and she cannot be medically cleared for part-time work while her disability case is pending. Joy rents a small room, and even with food stamps and limited cash assistance, she is consistently falling short. She recently had pneumonia, further complicating her health. Joy is now facing eviction on January 1st.

This fundraiser is meant to be a short-term lifeline. Funds will help Joy avoid eviction, cover rent and basic necessities, buy time while disability and caregiving approvals are finalized, and allow her to continue caring for her mother and niece without becoming homeless herself. Joy has spent her life taking care of others. She is not asking for luxury or long-term support, just stability and a chance to breathe. If you can help in any amount, or share this fundraiser, you will be giving someone the dignity of staying housed and the ability to keep her family together. Thank you for reading, and thank you for caring.