The Other Side

Mark* is a single father with two young children living at home. Recently, he was in a terrible accident that left him paralyzed. Thankfully, Mark’s mother, Renée,* lived nearby and was willing to move in and help her son and his children. With her help, they could remain at home and keep their routine as much the same as possible. 

Renée came into ECCCM seeking assistance with a past-due power bill. She worked a full-time job, but by trying to meet the needs of her family, she had missed a good bit of work. “I must do what I can for them,” she told her case manager in tears. “They don’t have anyone else. They are my priority, but at my age, it is about all I can do to keep the children healthy and in school. With Mark being in the hospital and obviously out of work, the power bill is reaching an astronomical amount, and now we are in danger of having our power shut off.” 

“Now, the hospital says they will release Mark in the next couple of days. I am excited for him to get home, but I am worried about how we will manage his paralysis. His home has steps, and I have no idea how to get him in and out of the house.” Renée’s case manager gave her several names of places where she could seek assistancewith a wheelchair ramp and told her that ECCCM could get them caught up on that power bill. She also put the family on a food program to help cut their household expenses until she could return to work and Mark could apply for disability income. Renée was visibly relieved by what her case manager told her and even felt a spark of hope as she headed back to Mark’s home. 

Time passed, but Mark’s story with ECCCM was not quite finished. Concerned about her client, their case manager called Mark and Renée to check in. In doing so, she found out that they had a wheelchair ramp installed, but sadly, it had been repossessed. They had gotten Mark’s tax refund back and had been managing the essentials with that, but it was drying up quickly. Now, Mark was concerned his children would not have the school supplies needed to go back to school. Rather than giving the family contacts that could possibly help, their case manager reached out to a local church, who said they would make sure that a ramp was built and that the children would get their needed school supplies. She also wrote up a clothing voucher for the children to get back-to-school clothing at our thrift store. 

The family has continued with our food assistance program, but Mark nor Renée have reached out for any additional financial assistance. Renée has returned to work, and Mark recently began receiving disability income. One of the many benefits of staying in touch with our clients is ensuring that the crisis has passed, and sometimes, when other needs rise to the surface, like the wheelchair ramp and school clothing and supplies, we can see that those needs are also met. With such caring case managers, your financial support, and wonderful community partners, we can meet multiple needs of families like Mark's during crises and thankfully walk with them to the other side.

*Names changed for client confidentiality.