Mom tried to help her husband
This mom says she tried everything she could to help her husband stop drinking, but he couldn't.
Then, he got nasty, she said, and became verbally abusive to her and their two children.
"He just got very, very mean," she said.
She tried to stick it out, going to a support group for people going through the same situation.
But eventually, he became physically abusive. She had to pack up the kids and leave.
"He wasn't always like this," she said.
Before her husband was laid off nearly three years ago and began a long, fruitless search for full-time work, she said he was a different person, a "good guy."
"Now I feel like I don't know him," she said.
After his unemployment benefits ran out, the family struggled to survive on her salary as a receptionist. Last year, they moved from the house they rented into a small, two-bedroom apartment and started receiving food stamps.
It surprised her when she first noticed her husband had been drinking while she was at work. Over a period of months, it went from once a week to every day.
"We couldn't afford to pay the electric bill or buy school supplies for the girls, but he was buying beer. I got really angry," she said.
She doesn't know what will happen, but said she is determined to keep her kids safe and sheltered. She rented a one-bedroom apartment for the three of them, and plans to put her girls in the bedroom and sleep on the couch.
"It makes me so sad. It hurts that he's doing this and we can't be around him," she said. "I just want to be able to give my kids a little something for Christmas. This has been hard for them."
With our readers' assistance, Press Christmas for All works to brighten the holidays for folks like this - people left jobless, homeless or who are barely making ends meet, individuals with disabilities or illnesses. Many are alone this holiday season.
Last year, our generous readers' donations allowed us to assist thousands of families in need.
Each day until Christmas, we will share the stories of those whose holiday memories will be a little happier because of Press Christmas for All .
Donations are collected, then distributed in the form of gift cards to Kootenai County residents in need.
Press Christmas for All is a holiday charity now in its 26th year. It is managed as a nonprofit by The Hagadone Corp. Because it is run by volunteers from The Hagadone Corp. and their partners at Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, every penny raised is distributed in the form of gift cards for Shopko and Super 1. The cards can be used to buy food and gifts but not alcohol or tobacco products. All contributions are tax deductible.
To donate, please send a check to:
Press Christmas for All
201 Second St.
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
You can also call (208) 664-8176 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and donate by credit card.
Recent donors include:
Gunter & Ellen Milow; Arlene Lund; Opal Anderson; Diana, James, & Chad Whaley; Dixie & Alfred Braun; Charles & Linda Sabatke; Michael & Edith Miller; Robert & Anita Banta; Albert & Alfreida Gouveia; Sandra & Ronald McCoy; Bernice Prosser, In Memory of Jack Prosser, Steve & Amy Decker; Anonymous; Laurence Pancoast; Dorothy M. Browm; John & Wilma Ednie; Audrey Schutz; Steve Hill Trucking, Inc.; Dusty & Audrey Rhoads; Richard & Joanne Raymond; James & Catherine Picard; Barbara McCarthy; Bill & Betty Bailey; Doug & Vickie Young; Jim Baxter; Donald & Sharon Lowe; and Akers Logging, Inc.
Notes from the needy
I'm so glad this program is here. Press Christmas for All puts dinner on the table and fills the stockings and if I'm careful and hit the sales I can usually get a present or two. Thank you so much for the help. We greatly appreciate it.
AF, Spirit Lake
Family of four
Notes from our donors
We are pleased to be able to help once again. Hopefully this small donation will go to help a veteran and his/her family.
DUSTY and AUDREY RHOADS
Notes from our donors
We are pleased to be able to help once again. Hopefully this small donation will go to help a veteran and his/her family.
DUSTY and AUDREY RHOADS