My mom Lorrie has asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with 50% the lung capacity of a healthy person.  She is being forced to go back to school in Fall River, MA tomorrow as a teaching para-professional amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to the pandemic she was unable to get her usual job at summer school programs, causing her to lose an extra 5k in yearly earnings. Every week, after deductions and health insurance, she takes home about $300. My dad has been on disability for almost a decade due to a stroke that impacted the left side of his body. Both of my parents are in their 60s and this pandemic has been both a threat to their health and also their financial security.

Massachusetts has been recently experiencing a steady increase in cases as well as a climbing test positivity rate.  Along with the re-opening of indoor venues and dining in most areas of Massachusetts, this gives us great concern about the safety of in-person learning in the state. While she has her own work space, my mom has to manage outdoor recess with unmasked children. Massachusetts has no testing policy with staff or children to prevent people with the virus from attending school.  With my mom's breathing issues this gives our entire family great concern for her safety. The school department refused to give her the option to work remotely from home or to give her paid leave.

We're setting this up to first provide my family the additional money they lost from being unable to work this Summer. I'm starting the initial goal at $9k. But should this situation continue with in-person learning being unsafe, I want to raise the goal so that my mother no longer put her health at risk working at the school just so that my family can scrape by. 

We will be providing paystubs and additional documents to verify the claims we're making here. We can access them once she goes to the school department tomorrow.  

Thank you so much for your help and listening,

Olivia, Lorrie (mom), Luis (dad), and Alexandra M (sister)