Christmas Appeal: Grandmother caring for late daughter's three kids wants a stable home
Things had never been easy for Jane and her late husband.
For more than 35 years, the longtime Calallen couple had made their way. Jane worked a variety of waitressing jobs while her husband worked at an industrial services company. Later on, the two found themselves unable to work, surviving on meager disability payments and a fixed income.
Still, they enjoyed some semblance of stability, but it all changed in January 2016.
Her husband died on Jan. 12 of that year, succumbing to a cancer diagnosis Jane said he seldom talked about. Just over two weeks later, Jane's oldest daughter was found dead in a Corpus Christi motel room, leaving a 10-year-old girl and two boys, a 3-year-old and a 14-year-old, without their mother.
The weeks and months following were a blur, Jane recalled. She was still grieving for her husband, and her daughter’s sudden death simply didn’t register. “I figured she'd show back up as she always had. … That was my mentality, but she never did.”
Only one thing was sure: She had to step up to care for her daughter’s children.
She eventually won custody of the three kids and took them in. Though happy to have them all under one roof, the victory came with a significant financial burden.
Her troubles came to a head earlier this year when she and the kids were evicted from their one-bedroom apartment. Since then, the family has been living in a small game room in her ex-son-in-law’s house, where they share two small beds between her and the kids.
The kids are now 9, 16 and 19, and tending to them is more than a handful. Jane said she wakes up no later than 6 a.m. to get the kids to school on time, and she is charged with taking the oldest of the children to and from work.
Helping out around the house and caring for the kids sometimes runs late into the evenings, but there are some lighthearted moments. Often, Jane said she only knows it is time for bed when her 2 1/2-pound chihuahua, Bella, lets out a small bark from the bed.
Living arrangements have never been stable since she took the kids in. Jane said she gets just over $1,000 a month for disability, but the cheapest one-bedroom apartments she can find in Corpus Christi start at $700 a month.
“How can you do that?” Jane said. “I have a car payment. I have insurance. I have a phone. I have health problems. … It's not possible.”
This Christmas, she is hoping to find a humble two-bedroom home where at least the boys and girls can have their own rooms. “That is all I want,” she said. “Just somewhere where they can be safe a secure.”
Through all the challenges, Jane often thinks of her late mother, the “most wonderful and caring” woman who had a reputation for helping others at their lowest. That is who Jane thought of in January 2016 when her life was turned upside down.
It's her mother’s memory that also keeps her going.
“The kids have nobody else but me, so I have to be there for them,” Jane said. “I have to be OK and be like my mother for them like she was for me.”
The children represent thousands who will be helped by the Caller-Times Children's Christmas Appeal. The names of the families profiled have been changed to protect their privacy.
Since 1973, the Caller-Times has reported the struggle of needy children and their families during the holiday season. All the money donated to the Christmas Appeal campaign benefits the children; all overhead costs are borne by the Caller-Times, United Way of the Coastal Bend, and participating agencies.
Participating agencies include Boys & Girls Club of Alice, Duval County Christmas Committee, the Kleberg County Welfare Department, Nueces County Department of Social Services, the Odyssey After School Enrichment Program in Rockport, Sinton for Youth Inc. and the Purple Door.
HOW TO DONATE
Here are three ways to help:
*Fill out the donation form on Page 2A. Make your check or money order payable to Children’s Christmas Appeal and mail to: United Way of Coastal Bend, 4659 Everhart Road, Corpus Christi, TX, 78411 (designate funds to Children's Christmas Appeal)
*Go online to www.uwcb.org and click on the DONATE button.
*Text ChristmasAppeal (no spaces) to 41444 to make a donation.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Grandmother caring for late daughter's three kids wants a stable home
