Woman wants to provide for siblings
COEUR d'ALENE - After two years of marriage, her husband left. Then the company she worked for went out of business, so she lost her job, too.
"I'm not a very good role model for my brother and sister. They're supposed to look up to me and be proud of me," said the 25-year-old. "It's kinda hard when I haven't been able to make anything of myself."
She has legal guardianship of her younger siblings. Her brother is 17, and her sister is 16. She was awarded guardianship because their mother has mental health issues and is frequently hospitalized.
She said she has applied for every job that will take an application from her, but nothing has panned out yet.
She has also applied for unemployment, and said she was told she will likely receive it, but the processing is taking longer than usual because the business she worked for is closed.
"People keep telling me that when one door closes another one opens," she said. "I'm looking for that other door."
Last year on Christmas Eve, before her brother and sister came to live with her, their mother became severely depressed. She drove off, leaving her teen children alone and scared for their parent.
"I don't want them to ever have another Christmas like that," the older sister said.
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