With the forecast calling for days of snow and a chilly dip in the temperature, Jessica* became worried. She was sure her neighbor Brian’s* propane wouldn’t last and her toes were beginning to feel more like ice cubes than anything else. Jessica* made a phone call and the voice on the other end, a voice full of trust and hope, encouraged her and Brian* to come in. But what about gas to get back? “No worries,” the voice said, “we can take care of that too”.
When Jessica* and Brian* arrived at POM, there was so much more than propane and gas vouchers waiting for them. A bag of food that could easily be prepared, foot warmers and socks and vouchers to get warm clothes at More Pennies From Heaven. A phone call later that day shared that they were using the footwarmers in their socks and hey, even a new hat too. “Gone was the feeling of being afraid of the storm and not being able to make it,” a POM case manager said, “It was a personality change”.
But this story actually began months earlier. When Brian* first came into POM, with Jessica’s* help, his main need was rent assistance. He needed something to help bridge the gap between now and getting his first social security benefits in April. Brian*, who was a veteran, didn’t have an ID and nothing was legally in his name. This made things difficult. The first step was getting Brian* an ID, which meant a birth certificate was needed. But because of COVID-19, the process to get a birth certificate wasn’t exactly easy. Not only did it require a lot of paperwork, there is also a fee, which Brian* didn’t have the funds to cover. But through POM, the paperwork was submitted and the cost of the birth certificate was covered.
POM’s next step was to work with Brian’s* landlord on getting his rent covered. Another bump in the road. The landlord wouldn’t fill out the necessary paperwork so POM could issue him a check for Brian’s* rent. But then more hope appeared. This time in a very unusual place. In his little community, where most people were in the same situation he was, they all pitched in what they could and were able to cover his rent until April. “This was a big heart tugger, “a POM Case Manager said. “It was refreshing to see that there is love out there still.”
So, what now? After Brian’s* birth certificate comes, POM will work with the local VFW so that he can get access to veterans’ benefits. “He said to me, “I can’t believe how many people want to help me,” a POM Case Manager said. “You could just feel him believe “I am lovable”.