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'Monitor's annual series helps 12 local families
NEAR EDINBURG — Micalea Carrizalez tries not to think of her old trailer home, where years of hard work and her sense of security went up in flames after someone she knew set it on fire.
The 34-year-old said she cried for days and barely had the will to live after the blaze destroyed her largest investment, her uninsured mobile home, in August 2009. Carrizales and her four children — then between the ages of 6 and 14 — were left on the street after all they owned was consumed in the flames. "I used to cry a lot, but I don’t cry so much anymore," she said in Spanish with tears welling in her eyes. The family moved in with a cousin for a couple of months until Carrizalez was able to make a down payment on a new mobile home half the size of her former one. "Once they moved my trailer, I moved in even without water or electricity," she said. Carrizalez connected the water utility but couldn’t afford the $900 it would take to install electricity at the new home near Edinburg, so she and her children lived without it for more than two months — including through the cold November and December of 2009. Christmas was looking dreary for the family as they could barely afford to live, much less buy The generosity of Monitor readers, however, changed that through a partnership between the newspaper and United Way of South Texas.
presents.
Each year for the past 10 years, United Way has chosen 12 of the neediest families in Hidalgo County to be featured in the "12 Days of Christmas" series, which highlights one family each day for 12 days before the holidays and provides information on how to help them. The annual outpouring of support and donations from the community has astounded staff as upwards of $60,000 in monetary gifts, plus many other valuables including furniture, kitchen appliances and needed services — including home repairs and even, in some instances, living quarters — have been donated in past years, said Thelma Garza, president of United Way of South Texas. Last year, the community donated $42,000 in cash and provided families many other types of gifts, she said. "These are families that are experiencing extenuating circumstances and usually it’s related to an individual who has health issues," Garza said. "And for that reason, the income level for that particular family has changed and is affecting them. They’re just going through a difficult time." This year’s series will begin Dec. 8 and will run through Dec. 19. The first story will highlight the plight of a family living in poverty, whose son is dealing with aggressive tumors after being diagnosed with cancer. Others will feature families dealing with other types of illnesses including osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as "brittle bone disease," stage two brain tumors, skin and cervical cancers, Alzheimer’s and blood disorders. Others will feature other kinds of adversities, including losing a loved one. CARRIZALEZ FAMILY Carrizales’ life was forever changed after being featured as a "12 Days of Christmas" family last year, she said. Readers donated nearly $2,000 in monetary gifts, plus furniture, kitchen appliances, clothes, shoes, toys and perhaps most importantly at the time, an electrician’s services. The mother and her children used a small battery-operated lantern to find their way at night, she said. They still keep the black and silver device in a drawer in her home to remind them of what they’ve overcome. "I never thought I was going to survive it," Carrizales said. "But I did with the help of everyone who was so generous." A Monitor reader hired an electrician, who installed the electrical pole she needed. "By the 24th (of December) we had light," she said trying not to tear up again. "It was a great gift they gave us." The family now looks back at the memory with a sort of bitter-sweet fondness. "When we finally had light, we felt weird having it," she said laughing. They still live in the small two-bedroom trailer home Carrizales purchased after the fire. The home is comfortably furnished with pieces she’s purchased at garage sales and a Christmas tree that sits in her living room. Carrizalez says she has more bills now, but is doing better than last year. "I thank God," the 34-year-old said. "I’m not saying we’re rich, but I have a home and my children are alive." She dreams of someday building a house behind the trailer on the lot she was able to purchase with the help of the monetary gifts, but she knows it will take time. In the meantime, she plans on building her 15-year-old son a room with her upcoming federal income tax return check. "Someday I’ll finish paying what I owe," she said. "I never lose hope." CHAVEZ FAMILY Blanca Chavez, a mother of four children between the ages of 4 and 19, was also helped last year after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2009. The "The most difficult thing about having my illness was being afraid," Chavez said. "It was hard, but I had to fight for my kids." With the mother’s illness and no home to call their own, the family was expecting a bleak Christmas, but all of that changed after she was featured in last year’s series. "By Christmas we had the apartment and we spent it here," she said about the home where she still resides. "We spent it like a family." Readers donated almost $8,000 in monetary gifts and helped her furnish her new home. She still has blue couches and several other pieces of furniture that were donated to her. The children also received clothing, shoes and toys for the holiday. "Last Christmas was an awesome Christmas for my kids," she said. "Even though I was on chemo and feeling sick all the time, United Way made it an awesome Christmas for us." Chavez’ last chemotherapy session was March 18 and she is now cancer-free, she said. Her hair is slowly growing out and her children are less worried. "I hope it stays like this for a very long, long time," she said. Both Carrizales and --- Naxiely Lopez covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4434.
37-year-old had lost her home to repossession earlier that year and was living in an apartment in Hidalgo when she received the news. Chavez, who became a part-time employee in order to attend frequent doctor’s visits, was forced to move in with her parents after medical expenses began piling up. Medicaid had initially refused to pay for the needed surgery and chemotherapy, she said.
Chavez don’t know the names or faces of the readers who gave their families a second chance at life, but they are grateful for the generosity and will remain that way for the rest of their lives, they said.
