Monique is a single mom to two beautiful children. To say that the last few years have been difficult for her and her family is a huge understatement. Losing her daughter's father 6 years ago to a rare form of brain cancer when her daughter was only 22 months old has violently launched them down a very challenging, trying and rocky path. Yet, despite that devastating loss, Monique has always tried her very best to keep going and never give up. Recently, she welcomed her son into the world and although he has brought them so much love, light and joy, he was born with a rare heart condition called AVSD. When he was 6 months old, he went into a state of “heart failure" and required immediate open-heart surgery to repair the defect. His recovery has been going well but with recovery also comes numerous Dr's appointments, medication, multiple types of therapy and round the clock care all of which has been handled solely by Monique. She has dedicated the last 15 years of her life to her career in social services, autism intervention services and mental health. She is extremely passionate about what she does and feels very blessed to be able to have a positive impact on the families and individuals she works with. However, due to recent cut backs and lay offs, it has made her options for re- joining the workforce few and far between as her maternity leave time comes to an end. To make matters worse, she recently had a medical scare which required her to have emergency surgery. She is now facing 6-8 weeks of intense recovery hindering her ability to look after her children as well as do any side jobs that she would often do to help make ends meet. Monique prides herself on her ability to assist families that are facing hardships or that are in crisis. She always encourages them to recognize when they are in need, reach out, seek help and use the resources that are available. Now, she finds herself needing to take her own advice and it is truly a very humbling experience for her. She is confident that in time she will get back on her feet but in the meantime, any assistance that can be provided to help her take care of her family would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking time to read her story. Blessings to you all.