Life is always a struggle in Basin City. The parish of San Juan Diego serves a community where the median wage of a full-time worker is just above $26,000 per year.

“The men work in the fields, and the mothers of young children stay home with them,” reports Yolanda Castillo, a PREPARES area coordinator. “Due to COVID-19, some are not working, and they don’t qualify for any public assistance.”

San Juan Diego is in the Spokane diocese, very near the border with the Yakima diocese. PREPARES staff from central Washington have recently been reaching out to several parishes in the area. Castillo found that many of the women who came to volunteer were in the same dire situation as the families they hoped to serve.

“They try,” she said. “They all contribute to meals for families they know are struggling.”

Informed of the need, Catholic Charities Eastern Washington loaded hundreds of pounds of rice, beans, oil, and other necessities into two vehicles and delivered the food to San Juan Diego, where local PREPARES volunteers broke the big sacks down into family-sized portions, and distributed the supplies to hungry residents.

Life is always a battle in Basin City. PREPARES and Catholic Charities Eastern Washington are glad to help its residents keep fighting.