For the Mendez Family, things weren’t always easy. Jessenia and Juan fell madly in love in their home country Colombia when they were teens, and at just 16 years old, Jessenia became pregnant. Both sides of the family disapproved of the couple’s young relationship but agreed to help out as long as they married each other and only until they turned 20, that way they have time to figure out how they’re going to support they’re new family. Jessenia still had a passion for English and literature and wanted to finish high school, so she continued by doing home school and used her free time caring for their baby girl Daniella, while also working as a tutor for kids in the neighborhood. She studied hard, and after high school, got into college and became very fluent in the English language. Eventually she turned her part-time tutoring job into being a full-time English teacher while still in school, with the help of her supportive parents taking care of Daniella. Meanwhile, Juan dropped out of school to focus on making money and working hard to support his wife and daughter and worked as a mechanic at his uncles’ business. Together, the couple saved enough money by the time they were 20 and were preparing to purchase their first home. Things changed however, after Jessenia was offered a job to be an ESOL teacher, teaching Spanish speaking students English, at a private school in New York City with a work visa for her and her family. Jessenia and Juan had never been to the U.S. and were excited but overwhelmed as they discussed the huge opportunity it will be, moving to America, and how this will benefit their daughter growing up. The Mendez family decided to go through with this life-changing decision and within the next two months were all set and headed to New York.
Three years later, a lot had changed. All the hope and excitement of living in one of the greatest cities quickly diminished after realizing the harsh reality of making it in New York City was. Things were expensive, very expensive. Even though Jessenia was working a great job as an ESOL teacher and was able to put their daughter Daniella, now eight years old, at the same school with a discount, the pair couldn’t keep up with the remaining tuition and all their living expenses. Juan struggled to get a job because he didn’t speak English very well and only knew how to be a mechanic. Almost two years after moving to the U.S., Juan was finally able to secure a job as a mechanic at a car shop, but only on weekends and he would have to wash cars during the week. He realized he would have to work his way up in any job in the hustling city of New York and while the money wasn’t good, he continued to show his worth. Living in the Mercer Street area of New York City, things were rough. The neighborhood wasn’t the safest and many were living in poverty. The Mendez family lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment and could barely pay for groceries or heat during the brutal cold winters; however, they were still grateful to have a shelter and place to call home. Especially after being homeless there first four months of moving to New York. The saving grace for the Mendez family was the CommunicAID Mercer Street Satellite center, which had opened a couple months before their first year in the city. After just having moved and being homeless, the family were able to stay in one of the centers long-term family shelters and were provided means of transportation to get to work and school and food every day. The center became a second home for the family and gave them the optimism they needed to keep their spirits alive and continue working hard for their daughter and finally getting their first apartment. They felt welcomed and blessed to have such a great facility near them were they were able to get resources like food from the food pantry, free tutoring for their Daniella while they worked, and job placement opportunities for Juan. For example, after 10 months of working at the car shop, practicing his English, and getting connected to the job center at Mercer Street, Juan was able to get a better paying job at the multinational car part company AutoZone. This was huge for Juan and Jessenia was proud. In an effort to give back, Jessenia started volunteering part-time on weekends at the Mercer Street Center, tutoring in reading and writing. One day, when in a better financial situation, she hopes to work full-time at the center that has had a such a huge, positive impact on her and her family and changed their lives for the better. They felt grateful that in a low- income community, there was hope to better yourself, your family, and quality of life, by people like those at CommunicAID’s Mercer Street Satellite Center who truly care to offer support to members of the community in need.
Article written by Melody Zenck (Public Relations specialist at CommunicAID)
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