The apartment that the family of six lives in is virtually bare.

With nothing to sit on, they eat meals on the concrete floor. Until they got a donation of four single beds last week, they were all sleeping on blankets on the floor.

"They're struggling," said the family's case worker, Nite Kristoph. "They really are."

The family was set back financially after the 34-year-old mother of four, who asked not to be identified, quit her job at KFC when her husband badly injured his back and could no longer help with the younger kids. In a hopeful development, his back has been improving, and he is applying for jobs while she is looking after their children.

But in the meantime, the family has been relying on food stamps and the generosity of their relatives to survive.

The family tries their best to make do with what little they have. They have no phone. They can't buy any new clothes.

While the older children — ages 14 and 15 — wear school uniforms, the 7- and 10-year-olds wear the same clothes every week. Some of their classmates tease them, said Kristoph, speaking on behalf of the mother, who is from Chuuk and speaks little English.

The mother said through Kristoph that she can't afford to give her children anything for Christmas. When asked what they will do for the holidays this year, she said "nothing."

"She feels sad about her situation because she sees other kids at the housing, that they have Christmas trees, presents under the Christmas trees," Kristoph said of the mother.

She even had to tell her children that they can't be a part of their church's Christmas program this year because she can't afford the uniforms needed to participate, Kristoph said. Talking about that made the mother emotional.

"I am ashamed," the mother said through Kristoph.

Some good has come to the family this year, however. In addition to the donated beds, they just received a used washer. Previously, the family washed everything by hand in a bathtub.

Kristoph said the family still needs so much more. They have no table and don't have anything to sit on. They don't have a fan to help cool the apartment or dry the clothes.

But the mother is "really shy to ask" for much and only said she'd like a dryer because rainy weather makes it difficult to dry the family's clothes. Because they must rewear the few clothes they do have, they wash them often.

Any new clothes would help the family as well. The 7-year-old boy wears size 10 pants and large shirt; the 10-year-old girl wears size 12 pants and large shirt; the 14-year-old boy wears 40x30 pants and 3xL shirt; and the 15-year-old boy wears 40x30 pants and 4xL shirt.

The mother wears size 16 pants and 2xL shirt; the father wears 40x30 pants and 3xL shirt.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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