Radiator problems of the 2001 Volkswagen Jetta

On my way to an appointment 1 day last yr, I had my air conditioner on then my car starts overheating. I was panicking, I had no idea what to do, especially since this was my first car. I barely got her in 2011 and I've had endless problems with her. When she runs good, she runs great but ohh when she has problems, she brings you absolute hell. It began as a slow leak & oddly enough only leaking sometimes. We took my Jetta to a shop in valencia and got the hoses and thermostat replaced. Whatever reason the mechanics did not notice it, or noticed it & were trying to squeeze more money out of me while they did a temporary fix. Barely this year I discovered thanks to my handy mechanics savvy boyfriend - that it was my water pump which is defective. 2 injuries occurred to my boyfriend thanks to this overheating problem. Driving on the fwy we stopped to put water (religiously carrying 4 gallons of water in the car at all times) in 100* weather w/ no a/c & me being severely heat intolerant, my boyfriend took off the cap to the radiator. That's when boiling hot water exploded all over him. Luckily I'm first aid certified and had my first aid kit handy & tended to him. He began to blister instantaneously. That same incident occurred again but with my temp. Gauge reading at regular temp. Still exploding all over him. I was left traumatized seeing my boyfriend get burnt and so severely in pain, as well as my own experience when I was alone: my car shut off on me at a red light, when the light turned green the traffic coming from behind me had a slow reflex to my emergency flashers: I almost got hit 5 times: lucky for me, my horn works. Well, now the water leaks out just as quickly as we pour it in. My car is a major safety hazard and shes all I have. I'm jobless & homeless right now & if I were to lose my car, I'd be left completely hopeless having to start from scratch again.