Aixa Vallées, 51, is the main caregiver for her two parents and her brother, who face different health conditions, but she says she has not been able to obtain the help she needs to look after them. "My days have no starting hours and sometimes they never end. It is just the day to day, minute by minute," Vallées said.
My days have no starting hours and sometimes they never end.
Her father, 80, has severe depression; her brother Rafael, 52, has a mental disorder; and her mother, 80, is a retired teacher identified as Mrs. Álvarez. Vallées says she has not even managed to secure housekeeper service that would ease part of her daily burden. Rafael had been receiving benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, run by the Family Department.
According to Vallées, the funds were denied because his health condition could not be validated, even though she says he has had it since adolescence. The case comes as the TANF program is under public scrutiny over a controversy involving a $38 million contract.