The Belmarez Family

Mr. and Mrs. Belmarez came to Hispanic Religious Partnership for assistance because they had both been laid off from their jobs.

They also needed emergency food to help feed their family. The Belmarez’ have a 13 year old son and a 68 year old grandmother living in their home. It was December 22, 2008 and Mrs. Sandra Belmarez sat in our office, weeping. They had just received a disconnect notice from City Public Service and were in fear of spending Christmas without any heat, gas, or electricity. Hispanic Religious Partnership was able to assist the Belmarez family with $150.00 to pay their electric bill. Our organization also gave them emergency food and information about our Food Pantries. We completed a Food Stamp application for them as well and assisted Mr. Belmarez with job placement information. Ms. Belmarez was referred to Blue Santa to help get her son Christmas gifts. Mr. and Mrs. Belmarez were very grateful for our services. Their Christmas was not a sad one after all.

On January 8, 2009, Mr. and Mrs. Belmarez returned to HRPCH to apply for Vision assistance. Neither of them had health insurance. Hispanic Religious Partnership was able to come to their aide. We assisted both of them with getting vision exams and glasses. At this time the family reported that they were now receiving food stamps and doing much better. They wanted to show their gratitude by doing some volunteer work for us. Mrs. Belmarez volunteered to help us with one of our outreaches held at El Divino Salvador United Methodist Church in conjunction with Molina Health Care.

Since their last visit to us in January, Mr. and Mrs. Belmarez have both found jobs. Ms. Belmarez is working for Somerset Independent School District and Mr. Belmarez is working for a trucking company. Mr. and Mrs. Belmarez say that having new glasses helps Mr. Belmarez see better when he is driving his work truck. Without these glasses he could jeopardize his safety or lose his job. The Belmarez’ have recommended several other families to us for assistance. Helping others improve their situations is very rewarding and we are glad that we can make a difference.