At work, I approached my manager about picking up extra hours. Every dollar counted now, and I was determined to make ends meet. My manager, understanding my situation, agreed and even connected me with resources for single parents. It was a relief to feel like I wasn’t entirely alone in this fight.

Jesse, too, began to change. Away from the toxic environment of my parents’ house, he started to open up. Laughter returned, tentative at first, but growing stronger with each passing day. I enrolled him in a local support group for children who had experienced trauma, and slowly, his flinches became less frequent.