An effort is underway in Bridgeport to help a single working mom and her four children who have been homeless for the past six months.

Mary Ann Nieves, 35, works five days per week as a home health aide but says she and her four kids became homeless after suffering an injury which forced her to take a big cut in her hours. She says she receives no government assistance, except medical insurance for her children.

Nieves says the family was living out of their car until she was warned that the Department of Children and Families might take her kids as a result – so now they're staying off and on with friends, never knowing what the next day will bring.

School Board member Dennis Bradley says he is leading a grassroots effort to get Nieves and her kids some kind of assistance, but it's been an uphill battle.

"We're looking for these government agencies, the nonprofits who specialize in assisting families to extend a helping hand to this family and expedite the process so they can have a decent home,” he says.

Nieves says that when she was younger she had high hopes of achieving the American dream. But now she says she'd be thrilled just not to be homeless.

She says that she plans to continue working so her kids will have a better chance than she did at making that dream a reality.