by Katie Patrick
In collaboration with several community partners, including St. Patrick Church in Imperial, and Educational Service Unit 15 in Trenton, our staff in Imperial had the privilege of serving a family in desperate need of food and financial support.
With Dad injured and unable to work, and Mom battling cancer, the three children opened their front door to 13 boxes of food and a check that would help cover rent and several other utility bills. The family was incredibly grateful for the support!
It doesn’t take much for a family to fall behind in bills, especially these days when we’re all facing inflation and the rising cost of goods and services, and when you add illness or any other setback at work or a transportation issue it doesn’t take much at all. And once you do, it’s hard to catch up. Unfortunately, this particular family's circumstance is not unlike many of the other families we help each and every day, but don’t worry, this column is after all a "Message of Hope."
So where, might you ask, do the families we serve find hope? Well, as I get to answering that, let me tell you about another family we helped in Imperial.
Several months ago, we delivered pizzas from a local restaurant to a mom and her three kids. Bill Sullivan, our very dedicated Regional Manager, really enjoys those evenings of being the pizza delivery guy to a handful of homes. Who wouldn’t love surprising families with pizza fresh out of the oven?
Last week, we received a call from a donor wanting to make a large donation of frozen meat. When we reached back out to the above mom and asked if she needed any for her family, she said, "yes!"
As a single mom of three, she works hard, too hard in fact that her new salary at work bumped her off benefits, including food assistance. Additionally, a court order demands that the absent father pay child support, a sum that counts toward her total monthly income, but as she stated, he never pays and probably never will.
At the end of the day, her income will never be enough to fully support her family, and without government assistance, she will need the support of agencies like ours and people like you, to help her provide for her family. That is hope. We are her hope. You are her hope.
Hope is a community’s response to a crisis. Hope is heard through the words of encouragement from Bill and Tonya, our staff in Imperial. Hope was, is, and always will be felt at the foot of the cross when Christ gave His life for us so that we may live with Him in eternity.
We know, like our clients do, that life is hard, it’s often unfair, and is beyond our control, but when we are able to reach out and ask each other for help and pray for one another, that my friend, is where hope and love prevail. May God Bless You!
