Beds for Shir and Orly’s children

Shir, 46, and Orly, 36, are doing their best to raise their four young children, ages 5-15. Shir completed 12 years of schooling and finished his full Army service. The couple got married 16 years ago. Since then, Shir has worked odd jobs, doing whatever he can to earn a living and support his family. Unfortunately, since the onset of Corona, he has not been able to find work. Orly also worked odd jobs after the couple got married, until the birth of their first child. Around that time, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and started having anxiety attacks. The couple’s three oldest children all have learning and/or developmental issues, which they are trying to control with medication and which demand a good deal of attention. Their 13-year-old son, in addition to suffering from ADHD, lacks the situational awareness to recognize when he is in danger; his behavior is extremely challenging and the State has deemed him 50% disabled. Between her physical and emotional condition and the demands of raising her children, Orly cannot work outside of the home. She is a caring and determined mother, doing her best to meet her children’s needs under very difficult circumstances.

The family lives in a three-room apartment. The four children sleep in one small bedroom, on mattresses on the floor or on an old fold-out couch. There is one closet for the entire family, and the kids’ toys are in the living room because there is no other space for them. Shir and Orly would like to put two pull-out beds, with good mattresses, in the kids’ room so that each child would have a place to sleep. With so little money coming in, however, their budget will not stretch to cover this expense.