Toni’s Story

When she answered the phone, the sound of her mother’s defeated voice on the other end immediately obliterated every thought in Toni’s head. This fragility was new. As her mother’s voice broke and she started to cry, Toni realized their roles were reversing, permanently.

Toni recalls this moment in 2024 as the beginning of the unraveling that led her family to the brink of homelessness. Her mother, Sierra, having just received a diagnosis of end stage renal disease was raddled by the information that she needed dialysis three times a week. Her main concern was Jairo, her husband. Two years into a bone cancer diagnosis, Jairo was wheelchair-bound and needed around-the-clock care. As Toni explained that she had been doing her best up until that moment to cover the family’s expenses with the little that she earns working in beauty salons, she whispered, “ha sido muy duro todo.” It had indeed been a time of prolonged hardship for the family.

The beginning of their American story dates back almost a quarter of a century. Initially bullied for being LGBTQIA+, Toni was harassed into leaving her job as a police officer in Honduras when she refused to participate in local corruption. When that situation became life threatening, she fled to the U.S. where, over time, she started to rebuild her life. Within the following decade, after her younger brother was killed by the same gangs that had harassed her, Toni begged her parents to join her so that the family could be together, in peace and safety.

For a few years after they arrived in Brooklyn, the family led an ordinary and settled life. Toni, Sierra and Jairo worked in cleaning, restaurant and beauty salon jobs, each earning less than minimum wage but together, they had enough to cover the rent for their small, two-bedroom apartment and afford a modest lifestyle. Even when Jairo became ill with cancer, they recovered from the initial shock and adjusted their lives and schedules to face their new reality. As his illness progressed, Sierra stayed at home to provide the full-time care Jairo needed while Toni balanced three jobs: two beauty salons and an evening cleaning job. They were thankful that Jairo had health coverage as they could barely make ends meet. The rent was eating more than 70% of Toni’s income and the family had little more than $1,000 left each month to cover other basics, including food and transportation. Still, they were making it work.

Then, in the wake of Sierra’s diagnosis, Toni had to temporarily cut her salon hours to ensure care for her father while her mother received medical treatment. The reduced household income could not stretch to cover all the bills as well as Sierra’s transportation costs to attend her thrice weekly dialysis and the extra cost of the special diets both parents now had to follow. Out of options, Toni shortchanged the rent, one month, then two and all too quickly, the arrears gradient steeply inclined to almost $11,000. In the meantime, Toni and her friends came together to make a schedule to ensure care for her father while her mother was at the clinic. Within a few months, Toni was able to get an extra job and rebuild her work hours such that she was able to pay the full rent moving forward. She even paid off more than half of the arrears debt with family assistance and a very timely allocation from a local Sociedad (an informal savings group of close friends).

However, finding it impossible to pay down the remainder of the arrears, the family faced the threat of an eviction that could land them in the streets or in shelter. Toni sought advice in her community and was connected to The Partnership in August 2025. Under the care of our housing team, a crisis resolution plan was put in place to clear the remaining arrears and save the family’s home, while our health and well-being team stepped in to provide the family with longer term supports. Sadly, during this time period, Jairo’s cancer rapidly progressed, and last month, he passed away. Toni has leaned on the team at The Partnership to surround herself and her mother with the organization’s mental health support services as they navigate this loss and find space for their acute grief while figuring out how to carry on.