Life and Poverty

Life and Poverty

Poverty is complex. There is never just one problem to address; there are always multiple problems. PATH’s comprehensive approach is designed to address these complexities – it takes heart, hard work, dedication, patience, and time; lots of time.

A year ago we met a family in crisis. They needed food and PATH was able to help. …

Need: Food – Emergency Services

… In the course of the interview with a volunteer caseworker Dad shared that their twelve year old daughter was always sad – she didn’t have any friends at school. They were referred to Kid Reach, PATH’s mentoring program. Their daughter was matched to a caring mentor. According to her teacher, counselor, parents, and mentor, her self esteem has improved; she has other children in school that she now considers to be her friends. …

Need: A friend and role model – Kid Reach

… Dad wasn’t working due to heart disease and pending disability status. To thank us for helping his daughter, he began volunteering at the PATH pantry. We received so much more than we gave. He was hard working, caring, respectful, and treated our clients with dignity and respect. He was generous. Although the family struggled financially, his generosity showed in his actions; he gave his time, his energy, his friendship, his smiles, and his heart. …

Need: To thank PATH by giving back – Volunteer Program; the heart of PATH

… PATH learned more about his heart disease – at age 42 he had already suffered two heart attacks. He was also diabetic and was not monitoring his blood sugar or taking his medications as recommended by his doctor. He had Medicaid which will pay for three prescriptions per month. His needs exceeded Medicaid guidelines. He was not eligible for PATH’s program; he would have to drop Medicaid in order to receive medication from the pharmaceutical companies we partner with – he needed Medicaid for medical care. We couldn’t help – and so he continued juggling his medication….

Need: Medicine – Prescription Assistance Program

…The pantry coordinator was Dad’s supervisor. One day she gave him a ride home. She came back to PATH in tears. Dad and his family were living in deplorable conditions. She cried as she explained to me what their trailer “home” looked like. Exterior walls were separated from the frame and half the house was exposed to the elements; the bathroom had no floor and was being held up by a large cable spool. There were roaches and rodents in the house. Everything was wet from a recent rain and house smelled like mold and mildew. Dad had two other children, the youngest of which suffered from asthma. He was also raising a niece and nephew after his sister passed away from heart failure secondary to diabetes.

Two weeks after we learned about their housing conditions, we moved them into a PATH Tyler Community Home. What a wonderful day! Because Dad couldn’t work, we bartered; he would continue to work half a day in the PATH pantry and would become the PATH neighborhood handyman….

Need: Housing – Tyler Community Homes

…There were so many issues to address. Dad couldn’t work, Mom was depressed. The only person working was the Nephew, but it was a part-time job at minimum wage. Niece had dropped out of high school. At age 17, she was also suffering from hypertension and diabetes. The 12 year old daughter, who was in the mentoring program, also had diabetes. The son had asthma exacerbated by their living conditions. The youngest daughter seemed happy and healthy. This family needed to assess their strengths, establish goals, and work towards a brighter future. They met with a PATH social worker and began to move forward….

Need: Case Management – Family Support and Development

…Mom, it seemed, was suffering from depression. She was not working and spent most of her day in bed. We offered her counseling; PATH is blessed to have a volunteer psychologist willing to do therapy. Mom didn’t want to do it. We asked her to “give back” by coming to PATH and volunteering – and she did. She appeared to be doing much better. A few months later, she worked with PATH’s Education Coordinator and found a great full time job with benefits. Finally – a light at the end of the tunnel. The job required three weeks of training and she was doing great. We were all so proud. One day we learned she had quit. Her explanation – it was too hard. She went back to spending most of the day in bed. She broke our heart, but we continued to push forward. …

Need: 1. Employment skills – Education 2. Counseling – Support Group

…We learned about a new position at a partnering agency. They needed someone to work in the food pantry, to be the right-hand man. We would miss him terribly, but we knew exactly who to send. Over the course of nine months, Dad had learned so much about the management and administration of PATH’s food pantry. Dad was perfect for the job. Dad worked there for two weeks and all we heard from the partner agency was “Thanks – he is wonderful!” All we heard from Dad was “Thank you, I love my work”.

On the third week, Dad died of a massive heart attack.

Poverty takes lives every day. PATH is helping the best way we know how… Mentoring, Emergency Services, Housing, Prescription Assistance, Education, and Case Management. One week has passed since we lost Dad, a member of the PATH family. We are encouraging Mom so she can pick up the pieces and begin taking care of her family on her own. We pray she will take advantage of the counseling. Niece is taking care of her health and is coming to PATH for her GED. Nephew is working fulltime and is registered to start at TJC in the fall. Oldest daughter still has her friends and her mentor; she truly needs them right now. The youngest daughter and son still don’t understand what happened to Dad.

Poverty takes lives every day. Poverty is complex. PATH’s comprehensive approach is designed to address these complexities – it takes heart, hard work, dedication, patience, and time; lots of time.

We will not give up on this or any other family.

Our dream is that Dad’s generation will be the last in his family to live and die in poverty.

Christina Fulsom