"Dekiya Davis faces daunting challenges. She has cerebral palsy, she is partially paralyzed, and she is blind in one eye. She also suffers from schizoaffective disorder, which, through medication and therapy, she has under control. Her husband, Shawn Stewart, recently suffered a stroke. And Dekiya has another formidable responsibility: motherhood. Her ailments make it exceptionally difficult for her to care for her two young sons, Shawn Jr., 15 months, and Christopher, who is only a few weeks old. (Dekiya also has a 12-year-old daughter, Niema, who lives with her father’s mother.)
The Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service, one of the seven charities supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, helps parents like Dekiya care for their children and keep them from winding up in foster care. Five days a week, Yamile Angulo, who is a mother herself, comes to Dekiya’s home to prepare meals, bathe the children and take Shawn Jr. to day care.
Dekiya also receives public assistance and Social Security, but she could not afford supplies for the new baby, so the Brooklyn Bureau used Neediest Cases money to buy a crib, a stroller and clothing for Christopher."
Links to aid organizations in the New York area mentioned in the article:
