SWFL mom works to provide for family amid struggle during pandemic

A family of six new to Florida has become victim to the COVID-19 economy. All six family members are now living in a single room of a family member’s apartment and doing all they can to stay afloat.

We learned about the situation Katilynn Anderson’s family is experiencing during the coronavirus pandemic after a teacher reached out to us looking for help.

“I lost my house. I lost my salon. I lost my business. I lost my job. And then I lost my job again,” Anderson told WINK News.

Anderson is a mother of four children who is trying to make ends meet by making deliveries.

“Wanna go for a ride with mommy? Wanna go ‘DoorDashing?’” Anderson asks her kids. “We’re carrying around a Wi-Fi box trying to do their schooling while I’m ‘DoorDashing.’”

Anderson is taking action and says she has no other choice.

“All I can do at this point is try to move forward,” Anderson said.

That’s the story of her life. Anderson had cancer as a child and beat it. She opened a hair salon and lost it. She has a child with autism so severe her husband must be a full-time caregiver. So, this year, she moved her family to Southwest Florida hoping for a fresh start.

But the pandemic changed that.

“The money that we moved here with for our house is exhausted,” Anderson said. “That’s what we used to survive on up until today.”

So now the Anderson family is living in a single room with relatives.

“And it’s hard because … she is older, and she has to sleep on the couch, so that me and my four kids and my husband have a bedroom to sleep in,” Anderson said.

While she does what she can with her kids and their studies, Anderson admits it’s a struggle.

“I’ve had multiple calls from teachers asking what’s going on with their schoolwork,” Anderson said.

And it was one of those teachers who reached out to WINK News to tell us Anderson’s story.

“At this point, what do you do when you need a job to find a place, and you can’t find a place because you lost your job?” Anderson said. “It’s like what do you do now?”

Anderson says she’s grateful the schools are providing grab-and-go meals. She says that really helps during these tough times.

If you’d like to help the family out, you can reach Katilynn Anderson at (239) 233-6269.