I’m a widow working as a cleaner, trying every day to keep my son safe, fed, and proud of who we are.

However, one party invitation made it painfully evident that not everyone sees us the same way. When my 12-year-old son, Adam, returned from a wealthy classmate’s party in tears, I realized something was wrong—and refused to remain silent.

My alarm clock’s piercing screech broke the silence of our modest flat, signaling another day that threatened to sap my vitality. My name is Paula, and survival is more than just a word; it is the air I breathe and the pulse that propels me through each day. It’s been seven years since I lost my husband, Mike, in a motorbike accident that shattered my life into thousands of jagged bits.