Miranda’s Story

Miranda grew up in the Jamaica and moved to New York City with her mother and daughter. She found the city was not for her, so four years ago she found her way to Harwich and has loved Cape Cod ever since. “My mother and sister are city girls. They love the city, but it’s not for me,” she laughingly said.

She had been employed as a family support worker at a resource center but was let go at the end of April 2020 after it became clear that COVID restrictions were here for a while. She lives with her fiancé who works in a local restaurant who, luckily, remained employed so they did not lose both incomes. She collected some unemployment insurance, but it did not allow them to keep up with all their bills. She is grateful that neither of them got sick to add to the worry.

Their old car died and with the level of their credit rating and no down payment, they were only able to lease a car at a high interest rate. The bills on top of rent and utilities were impossible to surmount but they needed the car for her fiancé to get to work. Lower Cape Outreach Council was able to help them with a car payment and helping them pay off the balance on the car insurance. With a leased car, insurance is higher as well. Several years ago, Miranda said she had gotten a little financial help from LCOC for rent when they needed to come up with first, last and security deposit. She said, “They had been so helpful before, a friend encouraged me to ask them for help again. I didn’t want to request too much but they were wonderful.”

Miranda, has a dream: she wants to open a specialty food market in the Harwich area. People from Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and other Caribbean spots often go to Providence to get the ingredients for their beloved dishes. She would like to provide an easier shopping option and jobs for people as well. She has reached out to business mentoring groups like SCORE, so she does things correctly. For instance, she is looking for used shelving that a store who is upgrading might donate or sell inexpensively. “I will do my best to make it nice but done in a practical way. I already have a storefront in mind,” Miranda said excitedly.

“With our overdue car insurance no longer hanging over my shoulder, I can concentrate on creating a future for us that will provide income. It is a big rock off my shoulder! The Lower Cape Outreach Council was so supportive and, along with God’s help, we will move forward”, she said.

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