JuanJose Martinez has come into a huge responsibility at age 19 — caring for four of his younger siblings, aged 7 to 15, after his 43-year-old mother died from coronavirus in August.
The Palmdale, CA teen cooks, cleans and helps his siblings with their online schooling, he said. But this isn’t even the hardest part.
“It’s still hard on them, but I try to comfort them the best way I can,” Martinez said of his grieving siblings who he said need emotional support. “At times we’ll cry together.”