Nora was exhausted. She felt that she had nowhere to turn, and that no one understood her troubles. As a single mom, with two jobs, she was just barely making ends meet. She called the FAN advocate at her children’s school and told her story. The FAN advocate listened patiently and sympathized with her hardships. She asked Nora if she had food for her family. The answer was not enough. She asked if they had winter coats and boots. The answer was no.

The FAN advocate gave Nora some food resources to help supplement their food stamps. She then gave her coats, gloves, hats, socks, snow boots, and backpacks for her kids. Nora felt relief flood over her for the first time in months. Her children would not be cold or hungry this winter. Thanks to a helping hand from FAN, Nora felt able to provide for her kids again.

A high school junior, Devon was living on her own. Her mother was incarcerated, and her ailing father, who she had cared for for five years, had passed away. She moved to Bend, but quickly learned an uncle did not have the space to take her in. Devon was determined to graduate, yet she knew that the stress of homelessness would make it extremely difficult. She learned of FAN and reached out to an advocate who helped get her into a homeless shelter for teens and set her up with health care, food, clothing and school supplies. Devon got a job cleaning motel rooms and enrolled in online school. As her advocate noted, “Devon has suffered more than most kids, yet her resiliency and commitment to hard work will bring her through.” Sure enough, Devon graduated and has plans to go to nursing school.

Nora was exhausted and felt she had nowhere to turn. As a single mom, with two jobs, she was barely making ends meet. She called the FAN advocate at her children’s school and told her story. The FAN advocate listened patiently and sympathized with her hardships. She asked Nora if she had food for her family. The answer was not enough. She asked if they had winter coats and boots. The answer was no. The FAN advocate gave Nora some food resources to help supplement their food stamps and gave her coats, gloves, hats, socks, snow boots, and backpacks for her kids. Nora felt relief flood over her for the first time in months. Her children would not be cold or hungry this winter. Thanks to a helping hand from FAN, Nora felt able to provide for her kids again.

On a cold blustery day, Tommy trudged through the snow in his Crocs, arriving at school with cold, wet feet. His kindergarten teacher noticed him shivering and contacted the FAN advocate, who then reached out to Tommy’s mother. She explained that his little feet were just too wide for regular shoes. Crocs were the only shoes that fit him. Tommy came to the FAN office with a big smile, hoping for a new pair of warm shoes, but after trying on multiple pairs, he sadly left empty handed. The FAN advocate made it her mission to visit every local shoe store that day, finally finding the right size online. When the shoes quickly arrived, Tommy's face lit up. He could finally run and jump freely! His mom said she had never seen him so happy.

A high school junior, Devon was living on her own. Her mother was incarcerated, and her ailing father, who she had cared for, passed away. She moved to Bend but quickly learned an uncle did not have the space to take her in. Devon was determined to graduate and she knew that the stress of homelessness would make it extremely difficult. She learned of FAN and reached out to an advocate who helped get her into a homeless shelter for teens, set her up with health care, food, clothing, and school supplies. Devon got a job cleaning motel rooms and enrolled in online school. As her advocate noted, “Devon has suffered more than most kids, yet her resiliency and commitment to hard work will bring her through.” Sure enough, Devon graduated and plans to go to nursing school.