Stand with Emma: Aid for Her Struggling Family

**Hi, my name is Emma, and this is my family.**

I’m going to be honest—our lives have been turned upside down since November 2024, and we're doing everything we can to hold on.

It started back in 2023 when my mom became seriously ill. She’s in constant pain all the time, which means she is bed-ridden a lot. My dad lost his job while trying to care for her full-time, and eventually the family we moved in with to help became an ugly battle. We had bought an old travel trailer that needed work. It wasn’t ready to live in, but we had no choice to move and live in it. We fix it as we go.

Most of our savings had already gone to my mom’s medical bills and medications and what few bills we had. I was still in high school at the time and switched to online school so I could help take care of my mom while my dad started a new job (September 2024) at CJ logistics.

We finally found a place to park our trailer—and then, just before Christmas, we were hit again: my dad found out he was being laid off. His last day was at the end of January. He picked up doing Door Dash but that barely keeps gas in the car and necessities for us but it’s not enough to cover rent for the trailer spot, bills, and basic needs. We may face losing our trailer space... and even our car! He has put in over 125 applications and just finally found a job! But today he got let go, due to the trainer and I quote" you aren't learning the stuff fast enough and retaining i, you aren't a good fit here. . Today was the 5th day of of His 6 weeks of training. So we are now back to square one. He is hunting for jobs. And will run Door dash when he can. But if we don't get help soon, we are going to lose our car, home and all of our stuff in storage. Which is our extra stuff we can't fit into our trailer.

We’ve been blessed by food pantries and generous churches who’ve helped us get this far. My mom applied for disability but was denied. We now have a lawyer, but it could be another year before we hear anything. In the meantime, we’re trying our best with what little we have.

I see my mom cry often, and my dad stays strong for us, but I know how heavy it weighs on them. People don’t always understand—they think he’s not trying. But he is. Every single day.

I’ve just graduated high school and am now looking for a job so I can help. But even that is hard—my glasses are broken, I don’t have insurance, and I rely on my eyes to see clearly. We only have one car, so I’ll either have to depend on my dad for rides or somehow afford Uber—something that’s just not realistic right now.

We’re doing all we can. We believe God is good, and He has carried us through so much. But it feels like every time we start to get up, life knocks us down again.

If you’ve read this far—thank you. Truly. If you can find it in your heart to help us, in any way, we would be so deeply grateful. My parents have always given back to others and their community. They are loving, kind, and strong people—and I’m proud to be their daughter.

With all my heart, thank you for your support, your prayers, and for sharing our story.

—Emma