Case 55: Ms. K is grateful to be alive to tell her story, as hard as it is to share. Just a year after her husband — the family’s sole provider — was killed in a collision with a tractor trailer, Ms. K was shot in the head, neck and eye while riding in a car. She lost her eyesight and has lasting brain trauma that affects her thought processing. Ms. K has fought her way through these hardships, knowing she had to survive for her son. She fights to keep her independence by working a part-time job, but she is really struggling and sinking financially. Her mortgage and utilities are all severely delinquent, the furnace is broken, they don’t have basic household furniture and their refrigerator is held closed with a rope. Ms. K said she and her son haven’t had a good Christmas in a long time and could use help with appliances and furniture, household items like pots and pans, towels, clearing supplies, and money for food, medicine and to fix the furnace.
People are also reading…
Case 56: Mrs. M cares for uncle, who has dementia, and her son, who has autism, on a very limited income. Caring for her uncle is difficult, because of his dementia, and she has had to do things like take the knobs off the stove to keep him – and the house — safe. Her uncle has limited mobility and had to be rushed to medical care after he stopped breathing four times this year. Mrs. M does her best to get around, but the summer flooding severely damaged her truck and it needs a new transmission to run. Her finances won’t stretch to cover daily needs like food, medicine and utilities and truck repairs. The flood also destroyed clothing, damaged her basement freezer and other items. Mrs. M and the family members who depend on her could use some help to get by.
Case 57: Ms. C is a recent widow who feels overwhelmed by loneliness, debt and grief, following the loss of her husband of 32 years to pancreatic cancer. Now alone, she is hoping for help getting stabilized, as she juggles a mix of challenges that are magnified without her husband’s income. That includes grappling with a broken washer, a home in need of weatherization, and a list of bills for rent, utilities, various loans, plus her own medical issues – like heart disease, diabetes, and different disabilities. She would greatly appreciate whatever assistance is possible.
Case profiles by Bryce Gray and Sarah Garrecht Gassen
100 Neediest Cases campaign, an annual program from the United Way of Greater St. Louis in partnership with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, continues its tradition of giving after providing to families for over a century. Vice President of Communications for the United Way of Greater St. Louis Erin Smith talks about how the program brings the community together.
