Your Gifts Helped Michelle and Tim Watson Start a New Life

“We feel really proud of ourselves now. Before we couldn’t feel proud. We were always down. We always cried. The kids always cried. They didn’t want to be where we lived at (after we lost our house). And today it really changed our lives so much.” Michelle Watson, Millerton

When Tim broke his leg, he discovered that he had bone cancer, and couldn't work. In order to take care of their four kids, and make sure that Tim received the medical care he needed, Michelle had no choice but to quit her job as a Certified Medical Assistant. The bills were overwhelming - they lost their house, their car. Now, after almost two years in hospitals, Tim is cancer free. But Michelle’s certification to work as a medical assistant expired, and their car doesn’t get her far. Ready to do anything to support her family, she’s working in the kitchen at a near-by private school.

“We were down and out, struggling to hold our family together. Worried about taxes being filed. We’d already had just about everything taken from us." Michelle

Afraid that she would owe the IRS money and unable to pay a preparer, Michelle hadn’t filed her taxes in years.  But when she learned through 2-1-1 about your United Way’s CA$H Coalition program preparing taxes for free, she scheduled an appointment at the Northeast Community Center in Millerton. Michelle filed three years of back taxes and through the Earned Income Tax and other credits, she will receive a substantial enough refund to start again.

“The Community Center, they helped us and we love them for that. The sun’s going to shine on us. And with our large refund we’re going to try to blossom like a flower-we’re going to start to grow again.  Thank you to the Northeast Community Center, to 2-1-1, to United Way.” Tim