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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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The seniors in our Senior Citizen Project
have all had their share of ups and downs. Joan, who is new to the program,
is certainly no exception. She has lost those closest to her and in recent
years had to move away from her friends. She says that her life is a “total
360 from what it used to be.” We are thankful and fortunate for your
sponsorship dollars enabling us to provide Joan with greatly needed
stability and support each month.
As you are well aware,
our mission is to help seniors in poverty throughout DuPage and Kane
counties. Here at HSP we see the first hand effects of crushing poverty
every day. Whenever we talk to one of our 115 seniors, many of them share
what’s been going on in their lives. Some being good and some being very
sad. Our hearts always go out to them. Many times we wonder just how they
can get by with so many illnesses and financial troubles creating
frustration and worry which always takes a high toll on them. For too many,
sharing their stress of not being able to purchase the things they need is
compounded simply by being old. Despite these challenges, some of our
seniors always seem to find something cheery to talk about in their lives.
Many are very strong and courageous. They face each day with a smile,
feeling grateful and counting the few blessings they have. It is an
inspiration for us to see their warm spirits remain positive in the face of
difficult adversities.
69 year-old Joan was born
in Chicago and raised in Cicero. She is an only child. She divorced her
first husband of 11 years before marrying Tom who she says “was a wonderful
man and never forgot her birthday.” In May 1993 after 25 years of marriage,
he died right in front of her while they were watching a movie at home, but
jewelry was still delivered on her birthday three months later. Then, in a
short amount of time, her friends and family started to pass away. For the
21 years before her death, Joan took care of her mother who suffered from
Alzheimer’s. She also took care of her step-father, who had major heart
problems.
Joan once owned beauty
parlors and worked as an alcohol counselor, but her true calling was
painting. She says that her grandfather gave her a crayon when she was a
toddler and instead of scribbling she began to draw. In her busiest years,
she was commissioned to paint jazz musician Pete Fountain, singer Diana
Ross, and a number of politicians whose portraits now hang in the National
Archives in Washington, D.C. Joan says that she had to stop painting when
helping her family turned into her full time job. Once she got more free
time, Joan moved away from her existing network of artists and clients and
says that acquiring new clients can be very time consuming and difficult.
She knows that she is “very good” and truly misses painting on that scale.
Joan suffers from
hypertension, poor hearing, chronic back pain, and a chronic cough due to
bronchitis. She cannot walk much due to her knee problems, which require
surgery in the coming weeks, and has had hip replacement surgery. She has
seriously injured herself from multiple falls, one of which occurred shortly
after her husband’s death. During a short hospital stay her home was robbed
and her family jewelry, cat and bird were taken.
A desire to keep herself
updated and learn new things keeps Joan reading regularly. She is interested
in health and psychology and uses the internet to research those subjects.
She is very social and enjoys intelligent conversation, but has been limited
by her difficulty walking. Unfortunately she does not see her closest friend
as much as she would like to but speaks with her on the phone as often as
possible.
Joan has a monthly income
of $944 to pay for her rent of $344 and medications and insurance that total
$174. HSP schedules monthly deliveries of 80-90 lbs of food which have been
a tremendous help to her. She says that the fruits, vegetables, and meats
are perfect and there is “no way I can express my gratitude.” Thank you for
empowering us to continue to give Joan a reason to smile.
Things to Remember about Joan:
• Joan’s birthday is August 28, 1937; she will turn 70.
• Her income is $944 a month.
• She enjoys arts and crafts.
• Her favorite color is red.
• Her favorite flower is the carnation.
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