Undocumented and Unemployed, but Supported & Strong: One Client's Resilience in the Face of the Unthinkable

Teresa has been living in the San Gabriel Valley for decades. She is undocumented and the IRC is helping her apply for for immigration relief due to a violent crime she endured. Teresa and her four children face many struggles.

Teresa's 20-year-long domestic violence marriage was suddenly halted last year when Teresa's husband left the state without a trace. With his absence, the abuse halted, but so did household income. Teresa has been a stay at home mother for her four children, one of whom has a disability and requires constant caregiving.

Teresa's oldest son was providing for the family until COVID-19 hit. Then his hours were cut, then his job altogether. He is not eligible for unemployment insurance. The family did not receive stimulus checks. Before the pandemic, Teresa described her family's favorite activities: going to the park, dancing baile folklorico, and going to the movies: they take joy in being together. Now Teresa is worried about getting food on her table and not being evicted. She told the IRC legal team what keeps her going during these hard times are her children. She fights for them daily. She has survived much hardship before and will survive this pandemic. 

However, undocumented families desperately need financial support. Thankfully, the IRC was chosen to be a funnel for special emergency grants through the County of Los Angeles and the California Community Foundation for our immigrant neighbors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to redistribute $2,000 to Teresa's family for direct financial relief. It is a small dent in the bills and missed rent piling up, but it brings comfort in the midst of uncertainty. Teresa's appreciation culminated in a phrase we hear from clients often,

"Que Dios le bendiga mucho por su trabajo."

May God bless you for your work. 

We are mutually transformed by our work. We exist to serve alongside the immigrant community in their fight for justice and humanization. We empathize, not sympathize, with our clients, meaning we feel their pain.

During the pandemic and civil uprising, we are all feeling stretched, but we cannot stand idly by. Thank you for supporting our work and for supporting positive change in the lives of Teresa and her children, and so many others.