FULANA

During an especially difficult time when Fulana and her family were expecting their third child and had no stable income or SNAP benefits, the Uber Grant provided critical support. 

IRC aims to help Fulana and her family, refugees from Yemen, build long-term stability and self-sufficiency in their new community. Raising two school-aged children while balancing work is challenging for any family. For refugees navigating a new language, culture, community, and workforce, those responsibilities come with added challenges.   

The summer of 2026 brought a compilation of new challenges for Fulana and her family as they continued to navigate resettlement in Montana. Fulana developed a high-risk pregnancy. After attempting to reduce her working hours, she ultimately stopped working altogether due to her health. Around the same time, her husband unexpectedly lost his job too, exacerbating the family’s financial insecurity. Although he qualified for unemployment benefits, the assistance fell far short of covering the family's basic expenses. Fulana shared, “when I delivered the baby, I was having trouble affording rent.” Despite the instability, the family welcomed their newborn in late July; both mother and baby are safe and healthy. 

Fulana and her family had been approved for SNAP benefits prior to this summer. While that assistance was not at all sufficient to cover their grocery costs, it had been a reliable portion of their food budget. During the chaos of losing their jobs, the family ran into paperwork issues in documenting income for the benefits program. This complication resulted in their funding being cut off for several weeks. Any one of these circumstances would have been difficult to manage on its own; but, together, unemployment, a high-risk pregnancy, and the temporary loss of SNAP created significant financial hardship.  

Through IRC's health and case management programs, Fulana and her family used the Uber Grant to purchase essential household items they otherwise may not have been able to afford. As the primary caretaker in the household, Fulana remembers ordering grocery items such as sugar, rice, lettuce, milk, and butter, and household supplies like dish soap and laundry detergent. “I was in need of a lot of stuff, and the money we got really helped our family a lot”. With a newborn at home, having groceries delivered directly to the family’s door reduced both financial and logistical barriers. Fulana has asked IRC to express her appreciation to Uber on her behalf.  

While still on unpaid leave as she cares for her infant, Fulana expects to return to work very soon. With support from the IRC, her husband has obtained employment and the family has been able to able to access SNAP again. While there is always need around food and supplies for a growing family—especially for expensive items like diapers, wipes, and clothing— Fulana feels much more financially stable than she did just a few months ago. The Uber Grant allowed the family to get through a vulnerable period, prepare for a return to work, and welcome a heathy new baby.  

IGALE   

Igale is a single mother raising her 9-year-old son. “It’s tough being a single mom”, she reflects. “The income that I have is not enough for bills and rent and food. It’s tough, but I’m doing my best”.  

At the beginning of 2026, Igale was one of many IRC clients who lost SNAP benefits after changes in eligibility requirements affected families without permanent resident status. For a single-income household, the loss of food assistance created an immediate financial strain. Between rent, insurance, phone bills, childcare needs, transportation, and groceries, costs add up quite quickly.  

 Finding reliable transportation and balancing employment with a child in school has been one of the biggest obstacles for Igale this past year. Despite needing extra income, Igale is limited in how much she can be scheduled to work because she takes her son to and from school. When she first arrived in Monana, IRC programs helped enroll her son in an after-school program that provides supervision until 5:00pm, allowing Igale to maintain a full-time job. But even with after-school support, her working hours have to be between 9:00am and 5:00pm. Ideally, she would want to pick up hours in the early morning or evenings, but as the sole caregiver for her son, those additional hours are inaccessible. On top of already conflicting schedules, using public transportation is time consuming. Although Igale was eventually able to purchase a used car, it unexpectedly broke down during the winter of 2025-2026. “I wasn’t even driving the car for that long.” Without reliable transportation, life became much more difficult.   

 While Igale’s car was inoperable, she was able to use support provided through the Uber grant to purchase “groceries, and some household cleaning stuff like tissues, toilet paper, paper towels, detergent” and other items with the Uber grant. “It helped me a lot, my income was not enough to have all that, so it helped a lot.” When asked what she would have done without the support, Igale imagined that her family would “not have had anything at home. At the time, I was new to the place, and my car was not working...it was not drivable. I couldn’t do anything if I didn’t have the time.” For Igale, the delivery component was especially valuable. Grocery store trips were difficult to coordinate amidst her transportation troubles and having food and household necessities delivered directly to her home removed a major burden.   

Igale remains focused on building a meaningful future for her family. When we asked about what kinds of meals she likes to make for herself and her son, Igale’s face immediately lit up. “We love to cook our country’s food, it is amazing.” Having navigated the refugee resettlement process while raising a young boy, Igale has shown remarkable resilience. She is determined to provide for her family and develop a stable life in the United States. Assistance from the Uber Grant is helping to make that possible.