‘YOUR KIDS COME FIRST’
Greenwich mom quit her job to care for her sons, who are autistic. Now she needs help.
GREENWICH — Being a single mother of two is hard. It’s even harder when both children are nonverbal and on the autism spectrum — and there’s a pandemic.
“My job is 24 hours,” said Timea Zadori of Greenwich.
Like many working mothers in America, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the local woman to choose between her job and caring for her sons — Noah, 9, and Noel, 10 — who struggled to understand why their lives changed so drastically last year.
Zadori is not alone. About 2.5 million women left the workforce since the begin- ning of the pandemic, according to Labor Department data.
Before the pandemic hit, Zadori worked 6.5-hour days as a nanny and housekeeper in Darien. But soon after schools shuttered in March 2020, she ended up quitting her job to take on the sole responsibility of caring for her children.
“They don’t understand why they are still quarantined for most of the day in their house,” she said. “It was a nightmare for them. Now, thank God the playground is open, and they can leave the house. But the past year, it was really difficult for them.”
Even when in-person learning returned this scholastic year, Zadori said she still had to be available for her sons.
Each time there was a potential COVID-19 exposure at Julian Curtiss, the children’s elementary school, Zadori and other parents are immediately called to retrieve their children. When the kids are home, Zadori must act as their special education teacher, helping them with speech, occupational therapy, math and proper handwriting techniques, for example.
“It was really complicated because I have to teach both boys at the same time,” Zadori said.
Since leaving her job last year, Zadori said she has spent all her savings just to survive, even turning to GoFundMe to cover the costs of her children’s medical bills. Ten days after she launched it, it had yet to garner any donations.
“COVID-19 has created a lot of situations, but when you’re challenged with issues with your kids, your kids come first and you’ll do anything for them,” said Michael Garcia, Zadori’s case manager at Jewish Family Services.
In October, a social worker at Julian Curtiss recommended Zadori seek support from Jewish Family Services. Since then, the organization has worked with the school district and the Greenwich Department of Human Services to help Zadori and her children with monetary assistance and food support.
Zadori is also a part of Jewish Family Services’ FACTS program, which is short for Families Affected by COVID-19 Transitional Services and seeks to improve the lives of families, over a 90-day period, through case management services.
Also, Zadori is an immigrant who moved to the United States from Szeged, Hungary, in 2003. About a decade later, after Noah and Noel were born, she moved back to her native country. However, disappointed with the special education services for children with autism there, she returned to America after three years.
Zadori hopes to become a U.S. citizen, like her sons. Almost four years ago, with help from the Greenwich YWCA, she applied for citizenship through a visa program.
COVID-19 has slowed the court process, however, and Zadori’s lawyer has said it could take more than five years to complete.
“She’s trying to do the best for her kids, with the situation that she’s in, and it’s been a struggle,” said Garcia, Zadori’s case manager at Jewish Family Services. “That’s where our organization and other organizations have tried to come in to support her, and if it weren’t for us, I don’t know what she would have done in certain cases.”
Their latest effort: Raise money for a working car.
Zadori’s decade-old car recently began having problems and her mechanic deemed it unsafe to drive. But without a vehicle, she can’t get to her sons’ many doctor appointments.
“We’re looking for reliable transportation for her,” said Rachel Kornfeld, executive director of Jewish Family Services.
If community members are willing to help, they can donate to a special Jewish Family Services fund to help raise money for another vehicle. Checks should be made payable to Jewish Family Services for “the transportation fund,” Kornfeld said.
“Someone can donate a car — it’s tax deductible,” she added. “If there’s a dealership in town, that would be interested, that would be amazing. We would look into anything.”