A light in health and financial hardship

Marc and Caprise already lived on a tight budget when they reached out to St. Vincent de Paul for assistance. They had just moved to the Valley with their five children and needed furniture and help with food. 

Then, the Glendale couple was surprised by an unexpected gift: Caprise was pregnant with their sixth child, a miracle despite birth control. 

Eight years younger than their next youngest child, the couple was excited to prepare for the newest addition when pregnancy complications started to plague Caprise. Their baby boy, Pharaoh, was born healthy, but Caprise was left effectively disabled and faces long-term recovery. This reduced the family’s income down to one, but then Marc had to further reduce his hours as a landscaper to help around the home. 

For a while they thought they were going to have to go without the normal dignities of life, like a fully furnished house or enough food for their whole family. And they’re not alone. 

Feeding America estimates that 1 million Arizonans face food insecurity, with roughly 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children lacking access to the food they need. Demand at Arizona’s food banks has grown by 33% since 2020. With food prices and the overall cost of living climbing, families living paycheck to paycheck are struggling more than ever just to keep food on the table. 

That’s when they heard about St. Vincent de Paul. 

“I contacted several organizations [for help], but St. Vincent was the only one that responded,” Caprise said. “It happened really fast. Most places you go to, it’s months before you get help.” 

Since then, the family has remained in close contact with the Vincentian volunteers. When a month gets really tight financially and the refrigerator starts to go bare, they call for help with a food box. 

“I try to wait till we really need it,” Caprise said. “It’s such a relief … We’re big, tall people. We have big, tall kids that are in sports. And they eat all day long. Just being able to have that extra help makes a difference.” 

Thanks to the assistance from SVdP, Marc and Caprise have been able to get through their rough period and work toward getting back on their feet. Caprise has recovered enough that she’s looking for work she can do from home while watching their youngest, as well as looking at opportunities to further her education. That would also free Marc up to find full-time work again. 

“We’re in a better place than we’ve been in before,” she said. “We’re only able to have that outlook because we got help when we needed it.”