Melva and Juan P. were both financially stable in their Mount Vernon apartment when Juan was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had to leave his job for treatment in October of 2009.

Juan had his cancerous kidney removed on November 13. The couple was devastated to learn that Juan also had lung cancer. The prognosis was not good. Melva was forced to temporarily give up her full-time job as a cake decorator to be with her husband. Juan’s disability benefits did not come through right away. Coupled with Melva’s lack of employment, it was enough to put the family behind on their rent.

Realizing that her parents were in dire straits, their adult daughter, Jenny, who was in a Master’s degree program, left school and found work to help her parents. But, even with Jenny’s help, the money available just wasn’t enough; yet it was too much to qualify them for emergency government assistance.

“We got an eviction notice and I just went crazy,” Melva said. Fortunately, a community center in Mount Vernon referred Melva to The Bridge Fund. The Bridge Fund contributed $1,418 towards the rental arrears, and the Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless assisted with another $1,418, bringing things up-to-date.

Juan is out of the hospital now and receiving at-home care from Calvary Hospice while Melva returns to her job on a rotating schedule.

“Everything is better now,” Melva says. “My husband is happy to be back at home and our financial situation is now stable. I know things are not good with his health but we pray every day for him and hope for the best.”