Homegrown

By Stephanie Stevens

Several years ago I found myself in a tough situation.

My husband and I had split up, I had two small sons, and nowhere to live, no money to my name.

Good friends sheltered me until I was able to find a home, social services aided me as best they could, and for quite a while, I had to rely on the food bank to feed my sons.

That was a long time ago. I swore then that if I could find a way to help someone else in a similar predicament, I would.

Since then, in what ways I could, I have supported the Food Bank, Christmas Bureau, Angel Tree and other community charities, often with words as a journalist, but also with contributions whenever I could make them.

Now, today, I have a young niece who found herself rather unexpectedly a single mom. She gave birth to her fourth darling just a few weeks ago.

While in the late stages of that pregnancy, she found herself needing to find a new home, in Calgary, and went through an incredibly tough process, including having to get a doctor’s note to prove she was pregnant. Apparently her eight-month pregnant belly was not proof enough. But that is another story.

The long and the short of it is after several weeks of desperately trying to stave off being homeless, my lioness of a niece found a new place for them to move, just a few weeks after giving birth to her son.

She has gone through every channel, jumped through every hoop, and she made it happen, through sheer force of will and a fierce need to protect her kids.

Her family, all of us, have been doing our best to make sure she gets packed up for the move, and what financial help we can give, we have given.

And so I have done the unthinkable, and started a Go Fund Me campaign to help out a little more.

It is tough for anyone to ask for help. Tougher still when you want to help more, but know you can’t. She is surrounded by love, but the reality is, while she has a place, has help packing and moving, the cost of reconnections fees, gas from her current place to the new one, all of those costs that add up so quickly, are not so easy to help out with. As parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, we want to be able to help our family out on our own. But sometimes, you just need a little help.

It is close to Christmas, and even if you do not celebrate it, it is still a truly tough time of year to take on this challenge.

But taken it on she has. I am so very proud of her.

And as she would not ask for herself, and it has involved a good deal of swallowing pride, I am asking for her.

I know we like to help out direct neighbours, and there is not a community anywhere without someone in need.

But if you can find a few extra dollars, and can spare a few moments, I would ask you to consider following the link to the campaign and help her through this last hurdle, give her some breathing room for a little bit so she can get back on her feet full force. A few dollars here and there can add up quickly to help offset the weariness that can feel so insurmountable, and give her strength to keep going forward.

I can remember clearly how much strength it gave me to go on.

Wishing you all a happy holiday, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, or whatever greeting or blessing you most connect with.

And thank you.

To make a donation, please go to:  https://www.gofundme.com/iyue1w

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