When storms come their way, Season for Caring moms keep going. Now they need your help.

Aaliyah Gaulmon's mission in life is very clear: to give her child the best life.

"I just want to make sure she has everything she needs," Gaulmon, 25, said of her daughter, Kourtni Chambers, 4.

The family experienced homelessness when they arrived in Austin last year after experiencing domestic violence. They lived in their car, then shelters, then finally an apartment.

"You just got to keep going," said Gaulmon, who now works as a manager's assistant at a local branch of the IRS.

Gaulmon is one of several mothers featured in this year's Statesman Season for Caring program, which raises money through Jan. 31 to help local families served by local nonprofit organizations. Gaulmon was nominated by Caritas of Austin, which focuses on preventing homelessness.

Her holiday needs were mostly taken care of by donations from her Amazon wish list and Ownwell, a company that helps people with their property taxes. She still needs curtains, living room rugs and patio furniture.

To find out more about the Gaulmon family or to fulfill an item on the wish list, contact Caritas of Austin at 512-996-4024 or caritasofaustin.org.

Learn more: 12 families featured in the 25th Season for Caring program. Here's how you can help.

Like Gaulmon, many of the other Season for Caring moms have been through some unimaginable circumstances: experiencing homelessness or the death of a child, surviving domestic violence and dealing with their own health crises.

“So many storms come in my life,” said Tracey Piper, 50. “But I deal with them.”

Piper has adopted a 4-year-old family member who has autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder while recovering from her own brain tumor.

“I’m a caring person,“ Piper said. “I always have been. … If I could help, I would. Even through my trials and tribulations.”

Piper needs help with a bunk bed and dresser as well as curtains and blinds. Contact Community Action of Central Texas at 512-392-1161, ext. 329, or communityaction.com.

Bonnie Yett, 58, is now raising another grandchild after the death of her daughter in June from a stroke. Her husband, Dwight, also died in October from the lingering effects of a stroke.

"I cried until I couldn’t cry any more," Yett said. "I would bury my face in a pillow in my bedroom or go out to the car and drive around because I didn’t want the kids to see me cry. There were times when I thought I wouldn’t make it. It was too much for me at times.”

Yett needs help with yardwork, a dresser and a queen headboard, among other things on her list. Contact Meals on Wheels Central Texas at 512-476-6325 or mealsonwheelscentraltexas.org.

Ashley Joiner, 30, also understands losing a child. Her daughter Javaeha died of pneumonia last year. She was 3 years old.

While things can get overwhelming, Joiner says she doesn't let it get to her for the sake of her other seven children.

“If I let it get to me, it’s going to get worse,” she said. “I just have to smile.”

She loves her big family.

“They keep me going,” she said. “I love being a mother.”

Her wish list still has things such as bedsheets, laptops for schoolwork and bunkbeds as well as a larger vehicle for the family. Contact Any Baby Can at 512-276-8199 or anybabycan.org.

Kristin Ramirez wishes she could hide the effects of the breast cancer she was diagnosed with in July 2022 from her six children ages 4 to 16. They have seen drastic changes in her as she lost her hair, dropped 50 pounds and endured the debilitating effects of her treatment.

“It really amazes me how much they’ve gone through,” Ramirez said. “It breaks my heart.”

Ramirez's biggest need is a new vehicle to fit a family of seven. Her oldest, Gigi, needs driver's education lessons and a vehicle to be able to help the family with errands. Contact Breast Cancer Resource Center at 512-524-2560 or bcrc.org.

Betty Patina-Trujillo, 48, is caring for her 14-year-old son with congenital heart defects and scoliosis while dealing with the pain of her multiple sclerosis. It can get overwhelming.

"I try not to panic," she said. "When I panic a lot, my nerves start shutting down. So I'm trying to keep calm and not think about" her pain.

She needs a home organizer to help her get ready for repairs as well as an electric stove and a refrigerator with an ice maker. Contact Wonders & Worries at 512-329-5757 or wondersandworries.org.

The caring continues for Phyllis Campos, who has 28-year-old twin sons with cerebral palsy. One of them, Cody, is nonverbal and in a wheelchair.

She's keeping herself healthy to be able to care for him as long as possible. “I'm 65, but I work out so that I have muscles that I can pick him up with," she said. "Most people wouldn't necessarily be able to pick up somebody who is dead weight at 90 pounds."

The Hoyer lift that was donated will make a big difference in moving Cody. She still has help with rent and car payments on her wish list as well as lawn service and an adult tricycle for son Casey. Contact Hospice Austin at 512-342-4700, ext. 4726, or hospiceaustin.org.

Marine Rebecca Adamson, 31, and her family lived in hotels and a 65-square-foot shed before she and partner Chris Watkins, 34, finally found an apartment they could afford.

"It was tough,” Adamson recalled of living in the shed. She was pregnant with her second child and sleeping on a wooden couch at the time.

She needs a gently used car, a washer and dryer, and hydrotherapy for her back, which she injured at boot camp. Contact Foundation Communities at 737-267-5738 or foundcom.org.

When mom Chantal Bisaninka thinks about everything she and her family have been through — fleeing their village in the Democratic Republic of Congo when it was raided, then living in two different refugee camps in Burundi before coming to the U.S. in 2019 — she says they “got through because of God."

Faith gave them a sense of stability as they adapted to life in Austin. Bisaninka works cleaning the offices at Applied Materials. Her husband, Aimable Mukire, cannot work after being shot while fleeing a refugee camp that was invaded. They have two daughters who have cerebral palsy and three other children.

They need a gently used car, living room furniture and diapers. Contact Interfaith Action of Central Texas at 512-386-9145 or interfaithtexas.org.

American-Statesman staff writers Kirk Bohls, Vicky Camarillo, Cedric Golden, Fernanda Figueroa, Keri Heath, Serena Lin, Ella McCarthy, Chase Rogers and Skye Seipp contributed to this report.

About Season for Caring

The Statesman will be sharing the stories of all 12 Season for Caring families throughout the holiday season. Find more stories and information at statesman.com/seasonforcaring. You can donate online or use the coupon on Page 24A and mail it to Austin Community Foundation, c/o Statesman Season for Caring, 4315 Guadalupe St., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78751. Make checks payable to “Statesman Season for Caring.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How you can help: Donate to Statesman Season for Caring moms