Aid restores family’s hope after job loss
When Juan Murillo and Sonia Montes left their hometown of Guadalajara in Mexico, they hoped to improve their lives north of the border. They arrived in Fairfield, encouraged by Murillo’s brothers, who had found steady work in the area, and settled in.
The couple welcomed their first child in 2005. By 2013, Montes had left her job at a commercial laundry facility, where she washed tablecloths and napkins from nearby hotels and restaurants, to care for what had become a bustling household. Murillo worked two jobs, one in construction and the other as a janitor. But when the family welcomed their sixth child in October 2022, they suddenly found themselves close to living on the streets.
Murillo requested five days off to help care for the children and Montes. He returned to his janitorial position without a problem. But he was shocked to find out he had been fired from his construction job. He did not get an explanation, he said in Spanish, just a “thank you, and good luck.”
Losing his job of eight years thrust the family into a precarious position.
“We felt hopeless. I felt desperate,” Montes said in Spanish.
Bills piled up. The couple could pay only a portion of their monthly rent. To help with the groceries, the couple relied on CalFresh benefits. Still, they were living day-today.
“We had to decide between putting food on the table and making payments, but we have children in our home, and they have to eat,” Montes said.
Murillo was looking for another construction job but encountered one obstacle after another. Companies were fully staffed. Then the work did its customary slowdown at the end of the year. Then it was slow to pick back up due to unusually stormy weather
2023.
Murillo eventually got a job at an industrial filter factory in Vacaville. But by then, overdue bills and months of back rent had stacked up.
“Our landlord was starting to tell us to hurry up and pay so we don’t get evicted,” Montes recalled.
Looking for help, Montes met Ana Siebert, a at the start of
Jessica Christian/The Chronicle family support worker with the city of Vacaville’s Family Resource Center, which connects in-need families with resources and information. Siebert helped Montes apply to the Chronicle Season of Sharing Fund, which works year-round to fight homelessness and hunger in the Bay Area’s nine counties.
Montes applied to Season
of Sharing in July, saying the process to request financial assistance with the back rent was easy. She finally felt optimistic.
Now, the family is all caught up on their bills and rent. Murillo continues working his two jobs, and Montes looks after their six children. Going out as a large family is prohibitively expensive, so they make the most of their time at home.
“We spend a lot of time together,” Montes said, hoping they can continue sharing time together at their Fairfield home.
Reach Mario Cortez: mario.cortez@ sfchronicle.com