Hi. My name is Joanne. I am sending out this GoFundMe to request help for the strongest woman I have ever met. I met Janice in 2018 in the memory care unit of the senior living facility where my mom was living. She was one of the CNA's working there and caring for my mom. I immediately felt her good energy and could see her work ethic and how she cared for all of the residents on full display. We struck up conversations each time she was there when I visited my mom. I found out that she was a single mom and had a difficult life up to that point.

We would chat while playing games or coloring with the residents at the activity table. I came to see what a wonderful person she was. She had the kind of rock solid character you do not find very often. She was honest, hard working and kind. She had spoken frequently about wanting to finish her nursing degree. I don't remember why, but Janice and I had exchanged phone numbers at one point. Janice eventually moved on from the place where my mom lived for a higher paying CNA position at a hospital.

We had texted each other a few times to say hello. But it had been awhile since our last communication when I received a text from Janice that she needed help. Her 12 year old son had attempted suicide and she had taken FMLA leave to care for him. During that time her income was cut by two thirds because she had routinely taken double shifts to be able to care for herself and her children.

Janice is back at work. However, she has not been able to get caught up with bills since taking time off to be there for her son and make sure he received the care he needed to get well. Also, two of her four children have diabetes which is an additional expense. She needs to move out of the house she is renting. There is a story attached to that, but it would make this story too long. As we all know, moving is very expensive. Janice lives every single day with the stress of not having enough money to pay her bills. I know this is a common experience for other people as well. Janice has to swallow her pride and ask for help. This is very difficult for her and she does not like to ask. It's a constant game of chess trying to keep from being homeless, as well as lose her car, which takes her to her job.

I had a long conversation with Janice so that I could find out more about her and her life. Janice was born to a teenage mom who was a drug addict. Her dad was also a drug addict and she did not have much contact with him growing up. At four years old Janice started living with her grandma. This was a stable period for Janice and she loved her grandma very much. Unfortunately, when Janice was 11 her grandma was having memory issues and it became where Janice had to physically care for her grandma. She would take care of her and the house and make sure bills got paid, as well as go to school. When she would get home from school she could see people had been in the house and were stealing things and money from her grandma. This grandma was not Janice's blood grandma. This woman stepped in to care for Janice. And Janice loved her very much. Eventually, her grandma's family brought her back to Tennessee leaving Janice to fend for herself at 12 years old. She did this until the electricity got turned off at which point she went to live with her mom.

She encountered physical abuse, drug abuse and sexual assault. Janice eventually got a boyfriend and got pregnant. She then got married young to her boyfriend as she was sure it was a better option than the way she had been living. For reasons to be kept personal for Janice and her family, she decided to leave her husband after 13 years. This turned out to be a battle in which she had to go to a women's shelter to get help and had to petition the court to get her children back.

This was ten years ago, and since then life has thrown obstacles at Janice that would make most people crumble. I am so proud of her as she has never succumbed to either drugs or alcohol to cope. She has never even tried drugs. But Janice keeps pushing forward and trudging up hill no matter how difficult and painful her life gets. She works double shifts at nursing homes so that she can get paid time and a half to be able to support herself and her 3 children living with her. This is back breaking work. But especially for Janice as she gives 100% percent of herself. All. The. Time. This includes giving not just the required care, but extra care with kindness and dignity to the residents.

I have felt helpless on the sidelines knowing that she cannot keep going at this pace and may eventually end up homeless. And this is why I have decided to start this GoFundMe. I want her to be able to move into an apartment with 3 of her 4 kids. One is an adult on his own with a college degree. Did I mention that Janice also has a bachelor's degree in health science as well as her CNA certificate? She also dearly wishes she had the time and resources to finish her nursing degree.

This woman deserves us fellow humans to lend a hand and pitch in to help her get caught up financially, get an affordable nice place to live and finally feel that her future can be better.

Thank you for reading this and considering making a contribution. Any amount will help.

Thank you,

Joanne Riordan