The following essay was written by Trina Tocco. She is a resident of Royal Oak and has two amazing children who attend Ferndale Public Schools. When the pandemic hit, I had to make a choice – either one of my children wouldn’t be able to participate in virtual school because of mental illness or I would have to put my family at risk by bringing additional caregivers who I didn’t know into my home to help with my children so that I could work. I chose to open my home because the risks of an unsafe home with no one to really turn to didn’t seem like an option.