Hannah's Story
After her divorce, Hannah* was drowning. Complications from her second child’s birth, worsened by lingering COVID effects, left her wheelchair-bound just as her world seemed to be falling apart. Her ex-husband stayed in their children’s lives, but was unable to provide financial support. Meanwhile, Hannah’s full-time salary vanished into medical bills—first her own, then her 10-year-old daughter’s after a psychiatric hospitalization that shattered what little stability remained. With a toddler and a pre-teen to care for, family loans helped Hannah keep her house, but borrowing from relatives was far from a sustainable solution. She turned reluctantly to high-interest credit cards to keep her head above water, each swipe pulling her family deeper into a hole she couldn’t see out of.
Hannah knew she needed help that wouldn’t add to her growing debt. When she discovered the Jewish Free Loan Fund—a Federation program offering interest-free loans to community members facing financial hardship—she found exactly what she’d been searching for. A $10,000 loan allowed her to consolidate her high-interest credit card debt and work with a financial advisor to rebuild her financial foundation. Most importantly, it restored something even more valuable: confidence that she could provide for the two young children who will always be the center of her world.
*Name changed for privacy
