14 Reasons Why

I know that I'm going to have a lot of "firsts" while training for this marathon, but it seems significant to acknowledge the "first of the firsts" I accomplished yesterday: the first time I've ever run 14 miles (I'd run up to 13 previously, when I ran a half marathon a little over a year ago). So, in honor of that, I decided to come up with 14 reasons why I'm running for Team Taller de José (somewhere around mile 11 or 12 I decided that I need to start focusing on the why instead of the how... because right about then the "how" was feeling like self-inflicted torture):

I'm running for...
1. Pablo, who hasn't been able to see his two young daughters for more than 4 years because the legal system is failing him and his family right now.
2. Josefa, who lost her public benefits because she has a learning disability and could not understand the notices they sent her.
3. Isabel, who wants to take her children out of the country to meet their grandparents for the first time, but can't do so because the father, who physically abused her, won't cooperate to get the children passports
4. Juan, who packs a sandwich for me, his wife, and himself when we go to Stroger Cook County Hospital because he knows we could be waiting there all day to speak with a specialist to diagnose his wife's rare illness.
5. Mariana, who needed to go meet with a lawyer offering pro-bono services, but was scared to leave the Little Village neighborhood for the first time and take the underground subway. 
6. Miguel, whose employer took advantage of him when he was injured on the job because Miguel did not understand his rights.
7.  Paula, who was terrified to go to the dentist for the first time in years to have extensive dental work done to repair damage caused by domestic abuse.
8. Marco, who has Alzheimer's and needs assistance filling out forms for his discounted senior bus pass and help communicating with the English-speaking staff at the subsidized senior housing where he lives.
9. Maria, who did not know what to do when her renters refused to pay rent and threatened to harm her.
10. Eva, who was confused about how to enroll her newborn daughter in the state's health insurance plan for children, and then three years later was nervous about finding a head start program for her.
11. Sara, who was trying to navigate the legal system without a lawyer in order to protect her children from an abusive and manipulative father.
12. Tatiana, who is a single mother fighting for a better education for her two children with Autism.
13. Susana, who has been emotionally abused by her husband for years and is seeking counseling for the first time.
14. Felipe, who has not seen his family in years because he left Mexico to work in the United States, the only way he could keep his children from starving.

Though the names have been changed, these are brief descriptions of 14 clients that we've served at Taller de José in the past years. We did our best to walk with them as we sought to find the assistance they needed. Their stories, and the stories of the hundreds more that we serve, motivate me to keep running.