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7 selections of fresh vegetables
6 selections of
fresh fruits
7 varieties of
frozen meats
5 bags of
non-perishables
1 bag of paper
products and personal care items
Gifts from a Secret Pal
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One of our goals here at HSP is to make sure
that all the seniors we serve in our Senior Citizen Program know that we are
thinking of them and looking out for their well-being. For many of our
seniors this is very important. They have very little companionship and no
one who can take care of them or check up on them to make sure they’re doing
okay. Years of isolation can truly take their toll on their well being, both
physically and mentally. It can be heartbreaking for us to see how little
some of those in our program have, but it only strengthens our resolve to
continue to show them that we are here to help. 67 year old Barbara is a
senior in our program who desperately needs to know that someone is out
there for her. She has had a life filled with setbacks and continues to
struggle to this day. We are grateful to you for your help in empowering us
to bring comfort into Barbara’s life and we wanted to let you know about her
condition.
Barbara was born in
Clarksville, Mississippi, but moved to Chicago in 1954 to live with her
older sister. Poverty and hardship have been a constant in her life. Barbara
has a glass eye because she was accidentally shot when she was young. She
has worked several diverse, but low-paying jobs
throughout her life, including being a factory worker, an elevator operator
and working in a mailing house. Barbara has five children, but was never
married. “You can’t trust them, why would you marry them,” she said.
This is a theme of
Barbara’s life. She has a very difficult time trusting anyone. Barbara is
paranoid schizophrenic and mostly keeps to herself. She has little to no
contact with her surviving siblings and children, save one, her son Ronald
who lives with her. Ronald is on disability, but receives no payments for
it. Sometimes he is the only person Barbara talks to for long periods of
time. She doesn’t even know any of her grandchildren. Complicating matters
is her meager income of $567, which hardly covers her section 8 rent of $73
and her bills of over $200 a month.
With the gravity of
Barbara’s situation, we can’t help but feel that it is tremendously
important to continue to do what we can to ease her suffering. She is very
isolated, and HSP is one of her few links to the outside world. Along with a
monthly visitor who comes delivering groceries, including five bags of
non-perishables, a box of fresh produce and personal care products, Barbara
receives regular calls from us to check up on her and make sure she is doing
well. It is very difficult for Barbara to trust anyone, but with your
continued support, we are confident that we can show her that there are
people who truly care about her.
Things to Remember about Barbara:
• Barbara’s birthday is November 25, 1938
• Her income is $567 a month
• She likes game shows and Pac-Man
• She likes soft foods because she doesn’t have many teeth
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