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EDINBURG — Cecilia Peralta, an Edinburg mother of five does all she can to provide for her family and give them a better future, but with every step forward it seems like life just throws something new to the mix.
Recently moving out of a rundown trailer home in Palmview to an apartment in Edinburg, the family is still trying to adjust to moving to a new city, but car and mental health issues are still persistent.
The Peralta family consists of Alondra, 18, the eldest daughter, Alina, 17, Alan, 15, Alessandra, 10, and Annacecilia, 7.
When they first moved to Edinburg, Cecilia told Alondra that it would be difficult having to adjust to moving away from Palmview where family helped out and getting to school was a lot easier.
With Alondra being the oldest, she has stepped up in handling responsibilities with her mother working all day and night most days
Alondra, about to graduate from a credit recovery school in Edinburg in December, dropped out of high school due to depression and began helping her mom.
Her siblings, Alina and Alan, also struggle with mental health issues such as depression that have affected their schooling and family life.
“It’s really stressful but I feel like I’m taking some stress off my mom,” Alondra said. “ If I leave because I do have the chance to leave … I wouldn’t leave my mom, I don’t think that’s fair. I know that my dad didn’t step up so I feel like it’s my choice to step up.”
Having to walk or drive her siblings to school has become an issue with their two vehicles experiencing problems.
When living in Palmview, the bus would pick them up right in front of their trailer home but living in apartments now, Alondra has to manage walking her siblings to their respective school bus stops before going to school herself. If they happen to miss their bus, Alondra either walks them to their school or drives them but that is if the van she uses doesn’t have an issue.
The family van used mostly to get her younger siblings to and from school has multiple problems.
The most major one is that the car battery has to be connected and unconnected every time the van is used, if not, the battery will die. Both sliding doors on the van can not open from the outside and the tires are consistently deflated.
Alondra said there has been times where she has had to walk her siblings in the rain or cold to the bus stop or even to their schools.
Cecilia stresses to all of her children to go to school to have a better future and to learn from her decisions.
She said getting married at 18 years old and having a child was a struggle and encouraged her daughters to focus on school and getting a career before having children.
The family’s other vehicle, which Cecilia only uses to get to work, has multiple problems.
Taking her car to a mechanic about half a year after she bought it resulted in her paying hundreds of dollars to fix problems that are still occurring to the car.
From a problem with switching gears to her brakes now sounding like a problem, Cecilia simply cannot pay to fix her family’s car issues while still having to pay rent and utility bills.
The second need for the family is to get bed and bed frames for the children. With some sleeping on couches or on broken futons, Cecilia said that would be the second most needed item for the family.
To help, call the United Way of South Texas at (956) 686-6331 and inquire about this family and the Spirit of Christmas campaign. The Monitor has partnered with the United Way of South Texas to garner support for Rio Grande Valley families in need of monetary donations, or other items and gifts specified in this story.
