Danielle would do anything for her 3-year-old son, Devin. Including going hungry. “I put my son first,” she shares. Which is why she moved to get away from a difficult situation and give him a better childhood.
But what was supposed to be a fresh start turned out to be anything but. Soon after moving, Danielle noticed Devin wasn’t acting like other kids his age. He wasn’t engaging or talking with people much. She took him to the doctor where he was diagnosed with autism. “It’s changed my life entirely,” she shares. “Devin is my full-time job now.”
Danielle planned to find work, but because of Devin’s diagnosis and no budget for specialized daycare, she stays home to care for him. And with no income, Danielle turns to the food shelf to help feed her son and herself.
“I’d spend days going to sleep with an empty stomach, making sure he had all the food,” she recalls. “I don’t know what we’d do without food from the food shelf.”
Danielle hopes that in a year or so she’ll be able to get Devin into a public preschool which could offer additional support. And once that happens, she can find a job. But in the meantime, despite all the challenges she’s overcome since moving she wouldn’t change anything, “Devin has been my strength, he and I are a great team”.
We couldn’t provide meals to neighbors like Danielle and Devin without partners like you. Here’s a sampling of others who generously support our hunger-relief work:
- APi Group Foundation
- Costco
- Head of the Lakes United Way
- Otto Bremer Trust
- Super One Foods
- United Way of NE Minnesota
Thank you!
