When a person is faced with challenges, it is often easier to collapse under the pressure than to rise above them. For Kelly of Huntington Station, despite the tragedies she’s faced, she knew she had to stay strong for the most important people in her life – her four children.
In 2012, Kelly was on a charter bus traveling upstate when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed the bus. Following the accident, she had to undergo years of physical therapy – half of her face was paralyzed, she temporarily lost of the use of her right arm, and she developed a stutter.
“One of the hardest…

Everyone Rides NICE will be available beginning April 28, 2021.
United Way of Long Island and Nassau Inter-County Express (NICE bus) partnered to provide low- and moderate-income Nassau County families and individuals with emergency transportation assistance for bus fares.
Everyone Rides NICE provides free Metrocards for use on NICE buses to help eligible riders travel to and from school, work, and facilities that offer medical care and other essential needs. Potential recipients will apply for transportation assistance through local social service agencies that are community partners of…

Michelle reached out to United Way of Long Island's Family Prosperity Center through a partner agency for assistance with financial responsibility. Her living situation was changing, and she was unsure about how to find new housing. After meeting with a financial counselor, Michelle was able to write down a monthly budget and break down her income vs. expenses. Her current rent was covered by the partner agency; however she would only be receiving this assistance for a specific period of time and wanted to make sure she would be able to pay her new rent when she it became her responsibility.…

Meet Mary - a 9 year old girl with a bubbly personality and a participant in Choice for All's Student Success Center, a program supported by United Way of Long Island. Mary's mother was referred to the program by a community member that had a child in the program with similar academic concerns. Mary’s mom is a single mother of two with Mary being the youngest. She expressed concerns about Mary's struggle with reading comprehension, decoding and spelling. She has to work two jobs because her eldest is on his way to college and she doesn't have the extra time for Mary as she did with her first…

Josephine is many things – a woman, a mother, and a domestic violence survivor. One thing she is not, is a statistic.
"I'm just happy to be alive, that I'm not a statistic, because I do know that a couple women in Nassau County lost their lives. I could have been one of them," she reflects.
Born and raised in Nassau County, Josephine became involved with a man who was her best friend. He later turned into the father of her third child and consequently, her abuser. When her son was born, she made the heart-breaking choice to put him up for adoption for his own protection due to the constant…

Some might say she had an ideal life; with a Bachelor’s in Psychology from C.W. Post and a full-time position as a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) in the Plainedge School District’s Special Education Program - Janice was off to a fantastic start. When Janice’s grandmother died, however, Janice noticed a decline in her mental health. After being terminated from her TA job, a tale too upsetting for her to recount due to the connection she felt towards the children she mentored, Janice began to ricochet from in-patient stay to residential program.
 
Janice, who was subsequently diagnosed with…

My name is Nia and my life matters. I am the only child of a teenage mother who was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia.
 
Text Box: Achieving Financial SecurityI didn’t have many friends growing up because my mother separated me from my peers. I saw my mother being mistreated because of her condition and constantly worried about a future for my mother and me. Then, my grandparents were granted custody of me by Family Court but living with them was uncertain and abusive.
 
As my 18th birthday neared, one of my grandparents asked me where I was working. I replied a local fast-…

A grateful mother's experience with the Long Island Head Start Program
"I am very happy with the Long Island Head Start Program. The program has provided my family with the opportunity to create an early learning environment and gives a lot of support to my husband and I regarding my children's development. One of my kids started in the Long Island Head Start Program in February 2012.
 
My husband and I were very happy when one of our two girls was enrolled. The next year my oldest child was accepted too. I became an expectant mother and was enrolled in the Expectant Woman's program. Now my…

Joseph’s wife Helen is living with progressive MS and uses a wheelchair. Some years ago, as a devoted husband, Joseph began attending a support group offered by the National MS Society -Long Island Chapter. He quickly became a dedicated and regular member.
As time moved on the group was no longer able to continue to meet due to a turnover in volunteer leadership which caused membership to dwindle. Joseph, who saw the value of the group both for himself and Helen, stepped forward to ask how he could help.
Joseph participated in training offered by the National MS Society and has been the well-…