Our Connecticut member Luna Rosado shares her story at the Democratic Women’s Caucus’ roundtable event “Trump the Grinch: The Impact of Republicans’ Disastrous Economy on Women and Families this Holiday Season.” As a single mother of three working since she was 15 years old, Luna thanks SNAP, Medicaid, and federal housing assistance were vital lifelines to support Luna's family, especially during the holiday season. She is anxious about the looming cuts to programs like SNAP and Medicaid, and shares her experience in the fight to protect these life-saving programs that lift her family.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by MomsRising.org (@momsrising)

Tell us how #Trumpflation is impacting your family this holiday season! Read her full story here:

Hello, my name is Luna Rosado, and I live in Plainville, Connecticut. I’m a proud MomsRising member and a single mom of three amazing kids, who are 6, 8, and 11. Thank you to the lawmakers here today for being champions for working families. I truly appreciate the opportunity to share the enormous strain moms like me are facing this holiday season, as the cost of living continues to skyrocket and the programs that help us make ends meet are under attack.

As a single mom, I work extremely hard every day to provide for my kids and serve my community. I’ve been working since I was 15. For many years, I’ve held jobs supporting the elderly and those in need. Today, I work multiple roles; as an insurance agent, a certified nursing assistant in a nursing facility, and as a nightly caregiver for a client who is homebound, assisting with activities of daily living like showering and eating. This allows her to remain at home, rather than in a more costly facility.

But despite all my hard work, my wages simply have not kept up with the soaring cost of food, health care, housing, utilities, and child care. At times, I’ve also been limited in what shifts I can take because child care is so difficult to find and afford.

It is so frustrating to juggle multiple jobs while caring for young kids and still have to worry about how I’m going to put healthy food on the table and keep the lights on. Sometimes I have to drive for Lyft and Uber to fill in the gaps. It’s exhausting, and it leaves me with almost no time for myself.

Without SNAP, Medicaid, and federal housing assistance, I have no idea how we’d make it. Because of Medicaid, when my children or I need medical care, I don’t have to choose between buying groceries or paying for a doctor’s visit. Recently I went through a major health challenge, and without Medicaid I could not have afforded any treatment especially because during that time I also experienced a significant financial setback.

After that experience, I became even more committed to eating a healthy diet, and SNAP is essential to myself and my family. And because I am a SNAP recipient, I was able to attain my medical assistant certification at no cost.

As a mom, I’m filled with anxiety about how the looming cuts to Medicaid and SNAP will affect my family. And the realization that millions of families are losing the support that keeps them afloat so billionaires can pay lower taxes is gut-wrenching.

It seems that some lawmakers don’t understand the harm their actions are causing – for example, last month,  when Trump fought to make sure SNAP benefits didn’t go out during the shutdown. That created a crisis for my family and so many others. My mind immediately jumped to my elderly neighbors, many of whom are living alone and have chronic illnesses. I had to make sure they had enough food to get through these difficult times. Families shouldn’t be left to ‘figure it out’ while lawmakers undermine the programs that make it possible for us to put food on the table.

Right now, so many single moms like me are trying to make the holidays happen for our kids while carrying the fear of what this economic chaos will mean for us. But I’m determined to build a brighter path for my children. In fact, I just enrolled in an academic success plan to pursue a degree in social services, because I want to serve my community more deeply and advocate for policies rooted in support and opportunity, not cruelty.

I’m committed to fight for the investments in health care, nutrition, elder care and child care our families and our economy urgently need. I’m extremely grateful to everyone here today for being in that fight. Thank you.