CASE 73
D, 36, found out she had breast cancer in 2008, one month after her husband lost his job and a few days before she gave birth to her second child. She underwent 18 weeks of chemotherapy, eight weeks of radiation therapy and the removal of her right breast. Long-term disability benefits from her employer helped, but she still amassed large medical bills and drained her savings. A checkup in June of this year revealed a cyst, requiring her left breast to be removed. She is on medical leave but has no more disability benefits from her employer. She is separated from her husband, who remains unemployed. She asks for gift certificates for groceries and toys for her children, ages 5 and 3, and for help paying utility bills.
CASE 74
The Q family are Bhutanese refugees who arrived in St. Louis in April. Despite enrolling in a six-month program designed to help them find employment, neither Mr. Q, 41, nor Mrs. Q, 39, has been able to find work to support their two daughters, ages 16 and 14, and their 9-year-old son. Mr. Q is limited physically because he was crushed by a tree three years ago, and his wife attends English classes, although she is not fluent enough to find work. They ask for gift certificates to buy winter clothing, bus passes to get to English classes, help paying their $500 monthly rent, and a Target gift card to buy school supplies.
CASE 75
A 59-year-old grandmother, Carol, is struggling with her own health while taking care of her family, which has been plagued with mental illness. Carol cares for her daughter, 38, who is bipolar and was recently paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident. She also cares for two teenage grandsons suffering with ADHD and fetal alcohol syndrome, one whom she homeschools. Carol suffers with heart problems and depression. To make ends meet, she visits food pantries, used-clothing stores and places that help with paying utilities. Carol needs assistance with living expenses to keep her family from becoming homeless.
Profiles by Leah Thorsen and Michele Munz of the Post-Dispatch.
