Arab American Family Services is proud of the hard work and dedication of our domestic violence department.
One of our domestic violence caseworkers has been working with a client for a while. We met the client about a year ago in the family relations court room at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
When we met her, she was divorced from her husband for about four years and was fighting him for child support money for her children.
She asked the caseworker for help learning more English. She needed the assistance to better explain her situation to the judge. AAFS was more than willing to help. The judge, who knew her situation well, and knew AAFS was assisting her with English, was pleased to see a nonprofit agency fighting for her and supporting her.
From the moment we met her until today, she worked hard, day and night, to take care of her kids that she had custody of, to make sure they never went to sleep hungry or cold.
Not only was she working 12-hour days, she was taking care of the kids, and even on her days off, she would be in court battling her ex-husband for the child support money she was owed, which was over $5,000.
When we saw the client recently, she told us that she was so excited. She could not wait to give us the wonderful news: she was on her way to close on the house of her dreams. With a little assistance from her siblings, she had the downpayment and was ready to move in.
We were so happy for her.
She told us that after almost four years, she had a home to call her own, and her children had a place to play.
We were so proud of her and told her that she is one of the strongest woman we know.
She was truly an inspiration!