Bob

Bob was a victim of a violent crime last April. He was at his neighborhood check cashing store with his Social Security check. As he reached for the cash, a male pushed Bob to the ground, breaking his collarbone and stealing Bob's money. Bob was reimbursed the money by the check cashing store and rushed to the hospital. Bob already suffered from partial paralysis due to a stroke and poor circulation in his legs. Walking was already difficult, but the broken collarbone made dressing, eating, and bathing next to impossible. Bob called the LSH Senior Center where he was a registered member. The Senior Center's Social Worker spoke with Bob and made arrangements for him to receive the help he needed. As a result, Bob received 14 home-delivered meals every two weeks until his collarbone was healed. Bob's phone bill was very high the month after his accident as he had advocated for himself to receive proper medical care. The Center's Social Worker contacted Verizon, which granted him one free month of telephone service upon hearing of his story. Bob's re-certification for food stamps was due several days after the incident. His food stamps were revoked because he was unable to complete the application in time. The Center's Social Worker advocated on Bob's behalf to Office of Income Maintenance and his food stamps were reinstated. He received a large bill from Temple Hospital for the visit on the day of the incident. Once again, the Social Worker advocated on his behalf, and Bob's bill was rendered "charity care." Bob has recently applied for Victim's Compensation and is awaiting a reply. Presently Bob has recovered from the broken collarbone, but the circulation in his legs has gotten worse. He has an appointment for pre-surgery in mid-November. He keeps in touch with LSH SC counselor several days each week to discuss different issues he has and often says, "I don't know where I'd be without the Senior Center!"

Nancy

Nancy is a low-income member under the age of 65 and is not yet eligible for Medicare or a Medicare + Choice Program. She has health insurance which does not cover the cost of prescriptions. She had been receiving her prescriptions from her daughter who was able to give her samples because she works in a health care-related field, but her daughter is no longer able to give Nancy samples. The Senior Center Counselor assisted Nancy in making a list of her medications, and called the manufacturers of each drug to inquire about a Patient Assistance Program that would provide the medicine to her for free. The Counselor worked with Nancy to complete the applications and Nancy was approved for free medicine. She will now receive her medication for free for the next year.

Joseph

Joseph, a neighborhood senior on a fixed income, was running low on heating oil. He called the Senior Center for assistance and spoke with the Counselor, who ascertained that Joseph had already received assistance from LIHEAP and CRISIS and was dangerously close to being unable to heat his house. The Counselor helped him to apply for additional assistance from the PCA Emergency Fund. Joseph’s application was approved, and he received assistance which enabled him to heat his house for the remainder of the winter. Joseph was so grateful that he crafted several handmade paperweights as a thank-you gift for the staff members who had assisted him.

Marie

At the age of 92, Marie’s life long dedication to her art has at last gained public recognition. Marie graduated from the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Design (now the University of the Arts) in 1941. While Marie worked as an illustrator for the Philadelphia Free Library for more than 30 years while she continued to work on her own art. She’s recently been “discovered” by Candace Karch & Janet Frey, operators of the Bambi Gallery in Northern Liberties and the Proximity Gallery in Port Richmond, respectively. The pair has begun to catalogue Marie’s massive body of work and co-curated “Tell All” an exhibit of her early work held at her alma mater in the fall of 2009. A life long resident of the Kensington/Fishtown section of Philadelphia, Marie’s inherent ability to overcome crisis and tragedy allowed her to purse her craft with passion and persistence. To this day, she considers herself a student, open to learning new art forms. Marie participates in the Senior Center’s Fine Arts class.