In a Shelter, and Striving to Help a Child Brian Harkin for The New York Times Juana Rosario and her husband, Gregorio, with their granddaughter Amy Germosen Rosario. The couple brought Amy to New York from the Dominican Republic to seek medical help for her. The last few years have been traumatic ones for Juana Rosario, who has been living in the New York City shelter system since 2010, alongside her husband and her disabled granddaughter, Amy Germosen Rosario. But as nightmarish as the experience has been, she prefers it to going back home to the Dominican Republic. Amy, 10, has Dandy-Walker syndrome, a congenital malformation that causes the fluid spaces around the brain to swell, resulting in poor motor function and the progressive enlargement of the skull. She uses a wheelchair and has required a feeding tube since she was 5 months old. Amy's condition deteriorated in 2009. She was constantly constipated, shedding weight and in intense pain. The Dominican Republic's hospitals have poor resources, and doctors were unable to remedy Amy's discomfort, Ms. Rosario, 62, said. "Amy suffered a lot," an emotional Ms. Rosario said in Spanish through an interpreter. We didn't know what to do. We prayed a lot. We cried a lot. It was very hard to see my granddaughter that way. Previously, Amy's parents had taken their daughter to the United States, where she was born, to receive better medical care. But that was not an option after Amy's mother lost her visa and could not afford to replace it. An accident involving a friend of Ms. Rosario's living in New York would turn into an unexpected source of hope. That friend had been struck by a car and required a caregiver while she recovered from her injuries, which were serious. So she invited Ms. Rosario to come and live with her; Amy could also stay in the apartment. "I saw it as a godsend," Ms. Rosario said. Amy came with her to the United States in September 2009, her feeding tube held together only by tape. Doctors were astonished by her condition, and also by the fact that Amy, who was then 6, could not speak. Ms. Rosario's husband, Gregorio, accompanied his family to New York, and stayed in a small room he rented in the Bronx. Though Ms. Rosario said she had expected to stay in the United States only a few months, that plan changed as Amy's health improved significantly and she was enrolled in school. She attends P.S. 138 in Manhattan. Unfortunately, Ms. Rosario and Amy could not continue to stay with Ms. Rosario's friend, who politely asked grandmother and granddaughter to leave, exhausted from one too many sleepless nights, a consequence of Amy's loud crying and screaming. Because Ms. Rosario's sole source of income is a $98 biweekly welfare payment and $733 a month in Social Security Insurance payments for Amy, the two had little recourse but to enter a homeless shelter, where Gregorio joined them. The family has since bounced around among various shelters; many are unsuitable for children with disabilities. There is not enough space for Amy to play on the floor, and the family must layer the mattresses with clothing to avoid being poked by the springs. Last November, the family was placed in a shelter in East New York, Brooklyn, that was a two-hour bus ride from Amy's school. She would cry on the long rides. Ms. Rosario sought help from the City Bar Justice Center, which provides legal assistance to low-income clients. It helped get the family transferred to a more appropriate shelter, closer to Amy's school. The City Bar Justice Center is a partner with the Children's Aid Society, one of the agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. Ms. Rosario said she has been grateful for the assistance. She also knew that she needed to find work to ensure her family's financial stability, and believed a job as a home health aide would suit her. Children's Aid Society used $650 from the fund to cover the cost of a home health aide training program. The agency also gave Ms. Rosario $650 toward feeding and clothing Amy. A few weeks ago, Ms. Rosario got a job at Preferred Home Care, and now works 30 hours a week. Amy has begun speaking Spanish and English. She communicates so well that Ms. Rosario cannot understand the discussions Amy has with her doctors in English. "We have decided to push forward here," she said. Amy's parents miss their daughter tremendously, Ms. Rosario said, but everyone understands that returning to the Dominican Republic could be a setback for her. "We want what's best for Amy," she said. I'm just praying for strength.