Meet our client, Stephanie
She is a single mother of three girls, ages 14, 10 and 4. She has struggled to maintain a stable job and make a living wage while caring for her children on her own. They ended up homeless, living in a family shelter for the past 6 years. Luckily, in September they were able to move into an apartment in a beautiful and safe South Shore community. Although Stephanie was relieved to have a permanent roof over her head, she remained worried about making sure the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator would have enough food for her children.
A few days before Halloween, Stephanie’s daughter Elana came home from school expressing that she was worried she would be the only kid in her class without a nice, new costume.
Stephanie said, “As a mother, it pained me to not be able to provide my girls those fun things that all of their friends would have. I literally strive to see them happy no matter what my situation may be, always putting aside my pride for my children.”
Stephanie heard that Interfaith was providing Halloween costumes for children, so she gave us a call. The next morning, not only did Stephanie find the perfect costumes for her 3 girls, but our food pantry volunteers also assembled grocery bags filled with healthy food options to feed her family for the entire week. In addition, she signed up to receive a Thanksgiving meal package from our food pantry.
Stephanie told us, “You made my daughters so happy with those costumes. They weren’t left out of their school parties. And the overwhelming generosity of food from the pantry was so helpful! Interfaith Social Services is literally a life saver.”
Stephanie’s story is all too familiar to us here at Interfaith. You may also know a family member, co-worker or neighbor who has gone through similar struggles. Each year, thousands of South Shore families receive nutritious food, mental health counseling, homelessness prevention assistance and budget counseling through Interfaith. These parents just want basic necessities and happiness for their kids. We need your help to make that possible.