HOLLAND, Mich. — When it came to her life, Laura Zuidema says her daughter Cassandra Casares loved every minute of hers. She says her daughter loved to travel, take care of her kids, and protect those who she cared deeply for.
“She's very vivacious, and very outgoing. And she's very exciting,” said Zuidema. “When she loved she loved hard. She wasn't a very affectionate person, but if she loved you, she loved you forever.”
Sadly, in November of 2023, Casares was shot and killed after an argument broke out in a church parking lot in Holland.
“She was not just my daughter, but she was a daughter. She was an innocent bystander,” said Zuidema.
And while she mourned the loss of her daughter, those emotions were quickly pushed to the side after she realized how much it would cost to lay her daughter to rest.
“I couldn't grieve because I was so lost in it unfortunately, I was like, so I fell into a state of depression because I felt like, how am I going to pay for her funeral? It happened so suddenly and unexpectedly,” said Zuidema.
She says law enforcement first told her she could get financial help, but only after the trial was completed.
Then, she was contacted by the state’s crime victim compensation services, who provided her financial help.
And while she says she is grateful for the help, she says she wishes she had known about this and other resources to help her during that tough time.
“Knowing that there's support, in that sense out there really, really helped me because I hadn't been able to mourn my daughter because how can you, I couldn't, you know? All I could think about was paying the debt that I had no room to feel like I could mourn my daughter, I just couldn't,” said Zuidema.
And now, she says she wants other families to know if something tragic happens, there are resources you can use right away.
Because if you lose a loved one, she says you should be able to spend your time thinking about them and not about anything else.
If you would like to remember a loved one, or want to know more about resources that can help you and your family, click here to see our More Than a Number project, where you will find a list a resources and services that are offered to you.
ABOUT MORE THAN A NUMBER
More Than A Number is a Poynter-Stand Together award-winning project created by Justin Baxley designed to help families of loved ones impacted by tragedy and trauma interact with journalists in a less intrusive way.
More Than a Number is a commitment to compassionately cover the victims of tragedy or violent crime and give a voice to their survivors.
We want to humanize victims and avoid the negative stereotypes that often accompany traditional crime coverage.
If you or someone you know is a crime victim or surviving family of a crime, there is help available. 13 ON YOUR SIDE compiled a list of services to get you started.
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