My name is Nina, and I am in need of emergency support to ensure that my children and I can meet our basic needs and stay in our current housing situation. As a single parent and working migrant who has held multiple jobs at a time throughout my life to raise my 4 children, it is not easy to ask for help and this is my first time doing this. But our situation is urgent and I am grateful for any support from the community.

Last month, my daughter experienced a medical emergency that resulted in heart failure, and she had to be airlifted from a hospital in Oregon to Seattle Children’s Hospital. She was in the hospital for 9 days. In order to stay with her in Seattle, ensure my other children were taken care of, transport my daughter back home to Oregon, and care for her as she started to recover, I stopped working my two jobs for a month. As the main person making income in my household, this has set us far behind in being able to pay for rent, utilities, gas money, and other basic needs for myself and my kids – not to mention the thousands of dollars in medical bills we are still getting in the mail.

If we do not make rent payments soon, we are at risk of getting evicted. I have returned to working 7 days a week, but I am hoping that support from the community will help my family and I stabilize and get back on our feet while we anticipate more healthcare expenses. My daughter is still recovering and funds raised will also go towards commuting back and forth between Seattle and other clinics for follow-up appointments. You will help us with meeting our basic needs so we can take the time we need to care for her.

I know that a lot of people are struggling in our Filipino community right now. My family is one of many asking for help. My kids are everything to me and any material support you can send will make a huge difference while we re-stabilize from these hard times.