During the age of coronavirus, we often think of Anita, an Arizona mother with an extraordinary view of the world despite lacking many of life’s material luxuries.
We transported our camera and lighting equipment to her small, brick second-story apartment, where Anita shared her story with us. She had lived in California, homeless and sleeping in a car. Previously, Anita’s mother helped her with her children. However, her mother passed away and Anita said she had to leave California. She packed up her family, moving to Arizona.
In Arizona, Anita’s children’s names appeared on the calling list of Karen, a healthcare and community worker. Karen called Anita. The two women connected and scheduled appointments for the children.
“So she was telling me about her situation,” Karen told us while sitting in Anita apartment. “And I said, ‘Well, first of all, let’s take care of this. The children need their well checks. I’m at the practice. Let’s go ahead and get this done.'”
Karen also helped Anita find housing. Karen herself had once been homeless.
“I was going to food banks,” Karen explained. “I’m living proof that you can get through it.”
Anita said, “I get choked up sometimes saying that: ‘I’m going home.’ At first it was ‘I’ll meet you at my friend’s house’ or ‘Can you meet me at my friend’s house?’ Now it’s very important. Now I’m telling my daughter, ‘Make sure you come home from school.’ I tell my son, ‘Make sure when you get off that bus, you come home from school.’ It’s less stressful. It’s a lot of weight off of my shoulders.”
Anita continued: “I wasn’t like this just a couple of months ago. I was really in a shell. Now I’m out of my shell and I have a lot of confidence. It’s very, very, very warm and wonderful to call my place my home. It is. I love that feeling. I can say this is my own. It might not be much, but this is my own. I appreciate my little peace of mind. I really do.”
Karen explained it’s about taking a burden off parents so they can focus on their families. She then turned and looked at Anita’s son, who wore blue headphones while watching something on a smartphone.
“I see my sons, what I was going through and how it was when we got our first place, “Karen said and smiled. “This is what we came from. Anita and I, we crossed paths and that was meant to be.”
Anita visited Karen’s storage unit. Karen donated items for Anita’s apartment.
“I was surprised but she gave it to me and it works, too.” Anita told us. “It helped me. It helped me fill up the house, make it warm for me. It was wonderful.”
Tears rolled from Anita’s eyes.
“A lot of people can say, ‘Oh, I got this and I got that, but are you actually happy that you got these things for your family, not just you got it? I have to sit down and tell my kids that we may not have much, but I plan to keep working harder for the family.”
Karen added, “Awesome woman. Awesome family. I’m getting teary-eyed right now. She is a proud woman. She is very proud and I was so happy to meet her. When we met, we hugged and from there, we built a relationship. Anita has a friend for life.”
