When their mother unexpectedly succumbed to skin and breast cancer following an allergic reaction to chemotherapy at the age of 51, Sarah, 26, and Jonathan, 22, had no alternative but to assume the responsibility of caring for their younger brother, Joshua, 8, and making a home for themselves. Despite all the challenges this presented, they were absolutely unwilling to compromise on one point: that they would stick together as a family.

While their mother was still hospitalized, money was running low. Sarah felt totally overwhelmed by the responsibilities falling on her shoulders.

“I just was running out of money and out of options. My mother said to me, call Jewish Family Services (JFS),” she said. “I look back on everything we went through, and I can honestly say that my mom’s last gift to us was to tell me about Jewish Family Services. Without them, I don’t know what would have happened to us or where we would be right now.”

The children grew up fast watching their mother suffer from her illness. All the while, they had to attend to the practical necessities of daily life, like feeding themselves, keeping their apartment clean, and paying rent and utilities. Sara had to drop out of college to take care of the household full time. While Jonathan was able to finish high school, going on to university was impossible.

After Sarah called, JFS assigned a social worker to the family. She quickly brought financial and emotional stability to their very precarious situation. During a home visit, the worker discovered that Sarah and Jonathan were both sleeping on broken beds, while Joshua slept on an air mattress. She immediately arranged for three proper beds to be delivered. She provided food vouchers and put them in touch with a support group for families coping with cancer.

Moreover, the social worker keeps in regular contact to show them that she is always available to them and that they can come to her, whether in regard to a specific need or just when they want someone to talk to.

“Our social worker has been an honest to goodness angel,” said Jonathan. “She did everything in her power for us, she got us all the help we needed in every single area. She got us out of that pit of despair and hopelessness, and now we feel like we have a future and that we’re going to be able to go on to have the lives our mother always wanted for us.”

Jonathan also received a lot of support from Jewish Employment Montreal (JEM) as he tried to establish himself in the work force. He attended workshops on how to network and how to make the best impression during an interview. Soon afterward, he found work as a shipper at the JEM Workshop that, in his words, “fits like glove. I couldn’t ask for a better job.”

The family is over the worst of its ordeal. The loss of their mother still pains them, but they have each other. And they have an extended Jewish family on which they know they can rely.

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My idea of a community is a group of people who are there to support each other. They rally together to help those in need, who don’t have, and who are lost. It’s a support system of people who have the same values. – Sarah, 26

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A true community is sort of like a family. They are people who don’t have to be related to each other, they just have to care. – Jonathan, 22

 

 

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