Kathleen is a single mom with two daughters. One is a teenager, and the other has special needs.

A couple of years ago, her husband abruptly ended their marriage. She moved to the area to be close to her parents. She cannot work due to a back injury which causes her enough pain to need care for pain management. She also has to take her 7 year old daughter to therapy four days a week. This creates another barrier to employment. Kathleen and her two daughters live off of child support, disability for her younger daughter, and food stamps.

Kathleen’s parents actively help her when they can. Since her income doesn’t cover her living expenses, they help her quite often. Unfortunately, lately their ability to help has been hindered. Her father had a stroke earlier this year and it’s all her mom can do to take care of her father. The entire family was beginning to buckle under the weight of the desperation of their situation.

Kathleen’s mom is part of a church that partners with Love INC and encouraged Kathleen to reach out. Kathleen originally called for help with back to school clothing.  YOU showed her and her teenage daughter Love In the Name of Christ through the Clothe-A-Kid program. They were matched with two volunteers, and her  daughter was able to get some one-on-one time with a volunteer while they shopped for clothing at Kohl’s.

As a part of the Clearinghouse process of being registered for Clothe-A-Kid, Kathleen learned about a few other ministries offered. She was thankful to be able to visit the Personal Care Ministry in August. She can visit this Gap Ministry once a month if she wants. This provides her with personal hygiene and household cleaning items. Then she can use the funds she would normally use for those things to cover other expenses.

She also learned about the Transformational Ministry Program held on Tuesday nights at Tri County Baptist Church. She hopes to attend the next time a class starts up. She wants her older daughter to be involved in the program for teens. This is where Kathleen and her daughters will have the most opportunity for life change. This is the place where Love INC volunteers can invest in her family long term, giving space and time for true change to take place, and the ultimate hope we have for Kathleen.