Leaving behind your country with your children due to unbearable conditions is hard enough. To find yourself expecting another baby, with no support and unable to work – open hearts are your only hope!

I've been volunteering to help in the Latino community since before COVID. The arrival of the pandemic thankfully put the brakes on the deportation sweeps of the previous administration, but hit this group very hard, knocking out the cash economy of housecleaning, yardwork or construction jobs that those awaiting their asylum process depend on. I was lucky to be able to help in getting people rental assistance (the only pandemic help open to them) and many have recovered. But when something like an unexpected pregnancy comes along and you can't keep up with that work, you can only hope for the kindness of strangers.

I'm looking for some rental help for Liliana and for Angela (names altered) to get them through January. Liliana came from Nicaragua with her teenage daughter, fleeing repression and violence, and was abandoned by her partner. Angela comes from Mexico, and her husband was deported, leaving her with four young children and another almost here.

My experience shows me that these are resourceful and hardworking people, making their way through situations a lot harder than expected, but who will be back on their feet with just a little bit of help. Can you chip in?