LIMA — Amy is slowly piecing her life back together after an unexpected divorce left her life in shambles.
The single mother of two, now in her mid-30s, had no college degree when she left her ex-husband two years ago, having spent much of her adult life as a stay-at-home mother. But now that she’s back in school, studying respiratory therapy at a local college, where she’s on track to graduate in the spring of 2020, there’s little time for much else.
“He looked at me and said, ‘I don’t want to be married to you anymore,’” Amy recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ I was a stay-at-home mom. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to hold on and hold on, hold on forever, and put up with a lot of verbal abuse. Then he started hitting the kids. So I had to, that’s when I had to leave.”
Amy has been piecing together public assistance and child support to make ends meet since then.
The family fell on even tougher times in February, when Amy became homeless. Waiting for a subsidized apartment to become available, Amy slept in motel rooms, on friends’ couches and at her parents’ house for about three months.
Amy is still optimistic that her sacrifices will all be worth it when she’s able to secure a good job with her degree.
“We’re just trying to get through until I graduate … I knew it was going to be a struggle when we left, but we didn’t have a choice,” she said.
Still, Amy worries about the kids.
Amy was victim to verbal and physical abuse in her two previous marriages, she said, and she worries how that abuse will affect her children. The family has moved around quite a bit too, and Amy has strained to ensure her kids stay in the same school district.
“I would love to give them some kind of Christmas because these kids deserve it,” she said. “It’s amazing how well-rounded they are with everything they’ve been through.”
For clothing, she’d love to get boy’s pants in size 34/33 and 6/7; boy’s extra-large shirts; boy’s size 6/7 shirts; men’s size 10 shoes; and child’s size 2 shoes.
As far as gifts go, she’d love to give her children Imaginext Batmobile, Batcopter and Batgun (Batman); Minecraft; Toy Story-related toys and gifts; Ninetendo Switch; and Harry Potter items.
Amy also needs new brakes on her car, which she can’t afford to replace on her own.
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