Night shift makes vacation difficult for single mom – InsuranceNewsNet

When Josey fell ill earlier this year, it meant she couldn’t work caring for clients at home, so she lost her job.

“I got a job later in the year at a daycare, but I didn’t like it, so I’m back to home care,” she said recently.

But Josey is paid by her client’s health insurance and when the client has a lot of doctor’s appointments, like the one she has now, the insurance pays the doctor’s office, not Josey, whose name has changed here to protect his privacy.

So to get paid, that means Josey has to work nights these days, which becomes difficult when you have four children at home – an 8-year-old girl and three boys aged 6, 5 and 3.

A single mother, Josey is lucky that her sister can babysit her children, but Josey’s sister has two children of her own and another sister who recently moved in has 8 more.

So on some nights there are 14 children in a house and two adults to watch and feed them all.

“My sister used to work nights, so I used to watch her kids during the day, but now I work nights and she works days, so she watches my kids,” Josey explained.

Either way, there aren’t many adults who get a full night’s sleep in either household.

“My mom had six kids and now they all have kids, so when we get together we have 23 grandkids,” Josey said with a laugh. “It can get quite hectic.”

Add to that the fact that, as with many crucial jobs, the pay for home health aides isn’t very high and vacation time can be a little tight.

“I can take care of my kids, and I am, but there’s not much for extras,” she said.

“My first paycheck goes to bills, and part of the second check. Then the rest goes to things like clothes, shoes, and food,” she said.

Luckily, with three boys, a lot of clothes can be passed down, but despite the fact that her daughter likes to dress girlishly, she also likes to play football with her brothers, so “things get messy pretty quick.”

Last Christmas, Josey used free gifts from a local church to supplement the few gifts she could buy for her children.

“I was able to get things from $5 Under the store, so they had a decent Christmas,” she said.

With the help of our readers, Josey’s four children can have an even better Christmas this year.

Holiday Operation

Operation Holiday began in 1991 at the Mercury in Pottstown to help families going through difficult times to provide something for their children during the holidays. The program’s mission is to make sure there’s food on the table and presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

Now in its 32nd year, the program has served thousands of families across yucks, Chester and Montgomery counties, expanding its reach in recent years to include communities served by Reading Eagle, The Times HeraldThe journalist and Daily local news.

More … than $122,000 in donations last year provided food and gifts to 379 children and cash donations to 13 food pantries in yucks, Chester and Montgomery counties.

This year, Operation Holiday has partnered with 22 agencies in the tri-county area. Agencies referred 144 families with 375 children for gifts and food and an additional 34 families for food. The eight families most affected by the explosion are added to these figures.

There are no overhead costs with Operation Holiday and all funds remain local. Funds are collected and audited in a non-profit foundation account managed by the staff of Media News Group who give of their time.

Gift cards for area grocery stores are provided to each family for food so they can buy the fixings for a holiday dinner as well as staples for the pantry. Weis Markets is an Operation Holiday partner and has helped with food purchases and gift cards.

Gift cards for each child in the program aged 16 or under are purchased through Boscov’s and distributed in partnership with referring agencies so families can purchase the gifts of their choice.

Opération Vacances does not accept families who have not been referred by an agency.

Operation Holiday is funded solely by reader contributions. All contributions are tax deductible.

How to make a donation

Online donations are accepted through a secure portal in partnership with TriCounty Community Network. Visit https://tcnetwork.org/ and click on the link for Operation Holiday.

Contributions can be mailed with checks payable to Operation Holiday to PO Box 1181, Pottstown Pennsylvania 19464; The journalist, 307 Derstin Ave., Pennsylvania Lansdale 19446; holiday operation, 1440 Lacrosse Ave., Reading, Pennsylvania 19607.

The names of all contributors are published in participating newspapers as donations are received. Please note if a contribution should be designated as anonymous or given in tribute or in memory of someone.