Support Lauren, Maddie, and Penelopi's New Start

My name is Lauren Dyke, and I am 24 years old. I'm a full time grad student, primary caretaker of my disabled father, loving partner to my dear, Maddie Latshaw, and now a full time mother to my sweet 9 year old step daughter, Penelopi, who has ASD and ADHD.

Penelopi was living with her other parent in a motel in central Pennsylvania before she came to us in New Jersey. Maddie had been a guardian of Penelopi for 8 years when Penelopi's biological mother was unable to care for her. While she was under the care of her other parent, Penelopi would still visit with us in New Jersey from time to time. What was only supposed to be a one week vacation with her here, abruptly turned into forever.

Penelopi was sent to us in July with a suitcase of dirty winter clothes that were too small for her because that was all that her other parent supposedly had for her. While she was visiting with us, we were informed that Penelopi's other parent had gotten kicked out of the motel that they were staying at. This meant that they had to try to relocate to a homeless shelter, if one would take her and her family. This fact was uncovered along with many other misfortunes about her biological mom, all in which had hidden from us for months before finding its way to us. A case worker told us that if we couldn't keep Penelopi, she would go into foster care. We couldn't let that happen, so we gained full custody of her in the blink of an eye.

Maddie and I live with my disabled father, which is a major expense in itself that we had already been struggling with. He has been in the hospital twice in the last 6 months alone. Since moving to NJ back in November, Maddie has been struggling to find steady work, and I have had limited opportunities to work while being a full time graduate student. I have one semester of school left before I am able to use my degrees to find a full time job. In the meantime, the bills and financial demands of life are piling too high to manage.

Penelopi came to us with nothing, so we had to start from scratch in getting her all of the essentials- clothes, food, medications, a bedroom, etc. While we have come a long way since first starting this journey, we still have a ways to go. Maddie and I have to swallow our pride and ask for help to keep our family afloat in these hard times that somehow keep getting harder. Penelopi already loves it here in NJ. We just want to give her the best life possible with people that she already knows and loves. Any size donation or a simple sharing of our story would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read about our family.