by Kari Harbath

opinion

Life can change in an instant. Like, one day everything is fine, and then…Boom. The tides shift and you’re facing the gnarliest waves. Underwater. Drowning.

For me, this was a reality that hit me hard in 2019. On April 9, 2019, my (amazing) daughter Sloan was born. At birth, she was life-flighted from Mckay-Dee Hospital—with her life on the line. She spent several months in the Primary Children’s NICU. During her NICU stay, she was diagnosed with profound disabilities and medical needs. This is something I never imagined I would have to face.

And I had to navigate it all as a parent—alone.

The following months were spent in and out of the Primary Children’s ICU. As I managed our in-home hospital, I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my two pillars of strength—my mom, Kim, and my husband, Aaron. 

Both were devastating losses on their own, but the death of my mom was the loss of my main support. She had been our guiding light during the darkest moments of early parenting, and she showed up with unwavering pride and love as a grandmother—even when things didn’t go as planned.

As a solo, widowed mom without my mother, caring for a toddler with profound disabilities, I’m deeply concerned about what’s next for my beloved home state of Utah. I work full-time, am deeply involved in community and school programs, and strive to make Ogden a better place. If I didn’t have support from programs like Utah’s Medically Complex Children’s Waiver, DSPD, Social Security, or government-funded early intervention, Sloan and I wouldn’t be thriving as we are today.

My worries for our community have intensified with the recent anti-DEI initiatives, led by Senator John D. Johnson earlier this year.

As a direct result of this bill, the Weber State Women’s Center, along with its other valuable inclusion programs and support centers, was forced to close. My family proudly hosted the Kim McCorkle-Harbath Memorial Scholarship through the WSU Women’s Center, which supported my mom as she pursued her degree at sixty years old.

As the rhetoric around anti-DEI laws, support center closures, and limited resources continues, I’ve watched the Women’s Center—hosting my mom’s scholarship—shut down. It’s terrifying to see this and to imagine the limiting future it might mean for my daughter, Sloan.

Last November, Stacy Bernal entered the race—a champion and voice for underrepresented people like my mom and daughter. Stacy is running against John Johnson for Utah State Senate District 3. She is focused on ensuring all voices are heard by our government leaders, and I’m confident in her ability to surface our needs to the top. She’s focused on all kinds of families: traditional, atypical, and the families that flourish even when our own loved ones are no longer with us. She epitomizes Utah values—something John Johnson hasn’t been able to do during his time in the legislature.

As a friend of Stacy’s, I’ve seen her genuinely support me and Sloan throughout our lives. She’s been the one to reach out, offer help, guide us, and show up when we needed her.

Stacy founded and has successfully run Awesome Autistic Ogden since 2018, she won her race for the school board here in Ogden in 2022, and she recently left a once-in-a lifetime role with the Utah Jazz in an effort to dedicate herself wholly to her senate campaign.

I trust Stacy. She has lived a life of multitudes and real, down-to-earth experiences: she gets it.

I’ll be voting for Stacy Bernal in this year’s election as we focus on making community and equity a priority for our government leaders.

Giving every voice a seat at the table, and supporting families of all kinds.

I hope you do, too.