Liza and Jay Family Emergency

From our dear friend Leaf:

Liza, Jason, Violet, and Willow

This lovely family has suffered a sudden and unexpected mental health crisis with one of the kids that has forced Liza to take extended, unpaid leave from work, which has ultimately led to job loss. These circumstances are not EI eligible. Liza has some promising leads for work, but it takes some time for income to be reestablished.

Jason is undergoing diagnostic testing himself and has been unable to work or to care for the kids full time on his own while experiencing ongoing, longterm chronic illness. Jason has support from WorkBC to train in a new career that his heath will allow for. But again, time!

They have been relying on his limited disability assistance, and with the 3 month discrepancy in income, the family has fallen dangerously behind on expenses, spiralling them deeper and deeper into crisis, despite working tirelessly to exhaust all resources to support recovery for the one kiddo and regain stability for the family.

Not all hope is lost but it is a big bump in the road to get over until they can return to some normalcy, and in the meantime, they are facing some scary risks.

Their priorities:

**Car payment to avoid repossession- the car has been an absolute lifeline for getting far and wide to many appointments and assessments with both kids in tow. It is also necessary to get to prospective job sites (rural farms!) that are not transit accessible. The family now also lives in Surrey, in an area away from main transit routes. Liza has also been delivering with Skipthedishes in order to make rent (it's super unsustainable at net $5-10/hr but necessary right now).

Utility payment to landlord to avoid eviction. Stable housing seems to be a rare gem.

Violet's birthday is June 10th- a gift and some sort of party to hold her up through this hard time would go a long way for this kiddo. She also thrives in gymnastics, it makes a world of difference to her health and wellbeing, and they have had to cancel it due to lack of funding :(

Daycare deposit- they have miraculously landed a daycare spot for Willow close to home! This enables Liza to work without worrying about safety and it allows Jason to attend his program. They will be covered by subsidy but need to make the initial deposit.

Groceries! They are only able to visit the food bank every two weeks.

It's a struggle out there for nearly everyone right now. The family is grateful for any help available. Thank you!