Story Photos
 Janice Heath and her son Robert sit in their living room. The two are examples of the people The Daily News seeks to help through its Neighbors in Need program. Greg Ebersole / The Daily News
|
Neighbors in Need campaign under way
Thursday, November 27, 2008 5:30 PM PST
By Brenda Blevins McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleAfter years of frigid winters and scorching summers in Wyoming, Janice Heath thought a move to Longview would offer her family a much-needed break. She and her son Robert looked forward to living in a larger city with better medical care. Robert, 17, suffers from chronic asthma, and Heath is a diabetic and has heart and arthritis problems.
Their poor health and unexpected life changes though, have them struggling each month to keep from going hungry.
It’s people like them who are the intended beneficiaries of The Daily News 22nd annual Neighbors in Need fundraising drive to provide holiday meals for the needy.
The campaign starts Thursday (Nov. 27) and continues through Jan. 1. The newspaper collects and then sends 100 percent of readers’ donations to The Salvation Army, which uses the money to distribute food vouchers. The Daily News pays all administrative costs to run the campaign.
The program has raised $787,012 since it started in 1987. Last year, readers gave about $47,229 to the campaign, the second highest total ever. The record is $51,132, a mark set in 1998. The drive ends Jan. 1.
Heath’s tough times started after she, Robert, and daughter and her family moved to Longview from Wyoming in September 2007. They lived first with a friend, then Heath found a house to rent on Fir Street.
She started out paying $174 in rent monthly. Housing assistance covered the remainder, and her daughter and son-in-law helped out with expenses as well.
Then Heath’s daughter decided to move back to Wyoming, and Heath’s portion of the monthly rent went up to $409.
Heath said that in her rush to find a place of their own, she overlooked the fact that the rent would soon rise. “My mistake was not checking out things very well,” she said. “I tried to ask questions, but I should have asked more.”
Heath receives $637 each month in Social Security disability for injuries caused when she slipped and broker her neck, back and tailbone in 2003. Robert gets $339 in state assistance. In addition, they are given $170 a month in food stamps.
But with rent, rising winter electric, water and sewer, insurance and medical expenses, Heath found she didn’t have enough money to cover everything.
“It’s not lasting, and I have to put cash in. I have to buy the necessities,” she said.
She made her budget choices: everything gets paid to keep a roof over their heads. Her goal is to find a cheaper place to live. Some prospects are promising, she said, and this time, she’s making sure she understands the fine print.
At R.A. Long High School, where Robert is a junior, he gets a free lunch. At home, Heath makes scraps into soup after the meat runs out.
She fears worries over making ends meet is one reason Robert’s grades have suffered.
“He worries about me at school, because he gets lunch there, and I don’t,” Heath said.
Robert said leaving Wyoming was difficult for him, but he had held out hope for their new home.
Their circumstances now, he said, are “not good but not bad.”
“I don’t complain about it,” he said. “But it would be nice not have to scrounge around for something to eat.”
Recently it all became too much for Heath to bear, and she went to the Salvation Army to seek help.
A kind staff member listened to Heath as she broke down.
“I’m at a point where I would never do anything to harm myself or anybody else, but how much more can you take? What more can you do?” Heath said.
The Salvation Army paid her rent for one month, gave her a $100 voucher to the Grocery Outlet and another coupon for a Thanksgiving dinner. The assistance was a blessing, as was the sympathetic ear.
“There was a wonderful lady, and I said, you know what, just tell her what’s going on,” Heath said.
The help they received through the Salvation Army was tremendous, Heath said. And she’s trying to make sure that in the future, food will be not such a worry.
She tells Robert to keep his chin up and concentrate on school.
“I tell him, ‘God blesses us every day,’ ” she said. “Right now we’ve got a roof over our heads, we’ve got some food coming in. But, it’s getting tougher and tougher.”
21 years of Neighbors in Need
1987: $22,422.75
1988: $14,224.57
1989: $22,289.43
1990: $25,241.80
1991: $25,834.00
1992: $33,857.00
1993: $37,763.00
1994: $42,642.00
1995: $37,561.00
1996: $40,651.00
1997: $41,343.00
1998: $51,132.00
1999: $43,052.00
2000: $37,893.00
2001: $42,807.21
2002: $40,253.50
2003: $42,890.78
2004: $46,434.64
2005: $46,091.09
2006: $45,360.01
2007: $47,229
Total: $787,012
El Fuego wrote on Nov 27, 2008 7:48 AM:
Rural Citizen wrote on Nov 27, 2008 12:00 PM:
I would like to offer a really good "poor man's soup" recipe that has gotten us through plenty of hard times:
Chopped onion
Saute in margarine in your pan
Add some frozen mixed vegetables and leftovers of any kind from the refrigerator.
or add anything you want to put with your onion.
Or just do it with the onion.
Add your water and ramen noodles.
Remember don't put your ramen noodles in until just before it's done. They only need two minutes or so.
very tasty. Hot and fills you. "
mole wrote on Nov 27, 2008 12:11 PM:
Past Month's Most Commented Stories