When a child is experiencing mental health issues there is nothing we, as parents, will not do to get our child help. Such was the situation facing one of our clients. Like many children during the past two years, Covid isolation and stress put this child in an at risk situation. The single mom came to us with a modest request: If we could pay the co-pays she could get her daughter a therapist. Without hesitation we were able to remove the financial uncertainty.
Under the best of circumstances being a single mom can be very difficult. Add to that a disabled child and two more siblings AND working a stressful job. That was the situation we were alerted to through a submission on this website. Not having received child support payments from the father for several months, the mom was behind in her mortgage payment, her auto insurance, and several other bills. Working through many issues with the other, we were able to bring most of the bills up to date...basically giving the family a new start.
A single disabled man in our community is disabled and is being treated for cancer. His social security is barely enougn to pay rent and provide food. Imagine being in that situation with the temperature in the high 90's and your air conditioner breaks. A refferal from Jewish Family Service enabled us to purchase a new air conditioner and have it installed the next day.
We have several families who come to us facing serious financial situations. We are not an insulated community...Covid has impacted many more than we know. We continually are told, "I never had to ask for help before." This is why we are here. Not to blame, not to cross examine, not to judge. We are here to do what we can to help those in our community who are facing overwhelming financial difficulty. We are a small all volunteer group..but we will do what we can. We can not do everything, but we can do something. We can help with food or a utility payment. And we will discuss special situations. All contacts are confidential.
When a single widowed father has three children remote learning is a challenging situation. We reached out to a generous person in the community and related the story. Within days two more lap tops were delivered to the family.
I. S., a man in his sixties, worked at the same retail store in a local mall for the past 40 years. When Covid caused the shutting of the store, he was left --like many --trying to navigate the unemployement landscape. With unpaid bills accumulating, rent adding up, health insurance a must, he was falling into a deep depression. JSS became aware of his situation. He was able to get unemployement. We helped him pay his most pressing bills and reassure him that he would come out of this situation. Now back to work part time, he is still not where he was, but he now has a positive attitude and a bit of breathing space.
One of the most severe impacts of Covid we see is food insecurrity. Jewish Social Service is sending more than $3000 each month in ShopRite gift cards to families in our community. This is not a one time project, but something we have been doing every month for more than a year.
When you live check to check, as many of our clients, any unexpected cost can throw your life into a tailspin. E.F. has a tight budget, but is able to handle her mortage, utility bills, food, etc. There is nothing left at the end of the month. An unexpected car repair bill of more than $1500 took her mortage payment. JSS was able to pay her mortage for the month. She is once again on a self suffcient prigram.