Eric and Lori Mann were no strangers to hard work and sacrifice: they had gone without many things before, and they were living on the edge of poverty when Eric started coursework to become a pilot.
Eventually, Eric earned his wings and became a captain—but after just five months, COVID-19 shut down much of the airline business, and his income was cut in half. Then he was wrongfully terminated, the state withheld his unemployment benefits, and the family began to feel the bitter pinch of hard times again.
As the threat of utilities being shut off, eviction from their home, impending loss of their vehicles, and the possibility of bankruptcy loomed over their heads, they relied on food pantries to help feed their family. Lori says it was difficult for her sons to watch their parents work so hard to present an image of a normal life while trying to provide for and protect them.