Still Here

Still here, just crazy busy.  A grandson whose soccer team is (hopefully) headed to state after tomorrow's game, school conference days so grandchildren home from school, doctor appointments, traveled 3 states away for a wedding, I can't remember what all we have been up to, but I will check my photos. 

My church charity has had record breaking requests. I worked last Thursday and had six families show up who had their electricity shut off that morning. There is a mindset that something will prevent that from happening, but in reality it means we have to had fees to have it turned back on. 

I had a grandmother raising a grandchild who was laid off from her job of 17 years.  I had several single mothers who were cut from 40 hours a week to 18-20 hours. I had a single mother of two with cancer who is on unpaid leave and they found five more spots on a PET scan. We had 28 applications before the board this week, I can't remember the rest of them. 

Our client from a European country, a working resident here for almost 18 years, whose abusive husband neglected to renew her green card - we were able to pay the fees and get the paperwork approved and she is renewed. We paid almost $600 to renew it and a generous volunteer is paying over $1000 to apply for citizenship and a generous attorney is volunteering their legal services to apply for citizenship. She was unable to work when her card expired. So that was good news. 

More good news was a benefactor who sent us an unexpected check for $10,000.  

We picked the rest of our garden yesterday before our first frost. I had a huge box of green peppers which I took to the food bank this morning. There were several "shoppers" our food bank is laid out like a small grocery and at least five or six people waiting for a turn to shop.  I will be seventy years old this year and every person there was older than I am.  

The loss of food stamps in my community will be devastating. Most of our clients use food stamps to supplement their budget. A senior citizen losing the $89 she gets a month in SNAP means the loss of most of her grocery budget.  The working single mother will have to use her rent money or utility money to put food in her children's mouths. It is just so sad. 

We have not gotten our letter about healthcare costs for our Medicare Supplemental. I am very worried about it. 

Anyway.  I will be back. Things have to slow down here someday.