We Help Moms Like Linda

St. Vincent de Paul visits over 12,000 neighbors annually. Many of them are moms with kids. Their stories are very real. They are typically on the verge of eviction. The stories are sad and troubling in so many ways. Your donations help our volunteers work with these young mothers and their kids. Without your generous contributions, we wouldn’t be able to do this work. Below is a story about a mom we recently helped. We will call her Linda.

Last week we went out to visit and take food to Linda. She has four daughters and is a victim of domestic violence. She is still being treated for physical as well as mental trauma. We were amazed at her courage as she calmly talked and even joked about her daily battles with a range of problems that seemed overwhelming.

She has been unable to work and her kids have had to move schools more than once, their apartment’s toilets work only intermittently. The apartment has mold yelling for the Mold Removal in Kansas City to come help, the spores from which have made her and one of her daughters sick. She and the kids have bad dreams on a regular basis. They lock and bar the doors at night. And nights are long and fearful.

Once, as we are talking, her eyes filled with tears as she told us how one of her children had asked her if it was OK to talk to her counselor about what she had seen her father do to her Mother. She had had to tell her daughter that it was alright to open up – Linda explained that the pain her and her daughter might suffer with all these feelings was another high mountain they would have to cross.

Listening to Linda, we realized how weak and easily discouraged most of us would be if we faced a fraction of what she had to deal with on a daily basis. As we left, she thanked us for our visit. And as we walked away from her apartment, we realized we should have been thanking her for such an inspirational example of faith, acceptance and courage.