Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 21, 1994 TAG: 9411210089
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That includes charity she is entitled to.
Although she has been a nursing assistant for 30 years, her pay has always been low enough for her to qualify for food stamps. She took the food stamps when her children were small but got off the program when her children were grown, even though she still qualified.
"I know there are people in worse shape than I am. There might be someone who needs them more," she said. Although her income was modest, she thought she made enough to support herself.
But now, Harris doesn't have that choice and is once again receiving government help. On Sept. 17, she slipped and fell at her workplace, an adult-care home. A fire sprinkler had accidentally gone off and tripped an alarm. The noise was upsetting the patients, she said, and as she ran to shut it off she slipped on the wet floor, falling hard on her shoulder, hip and knee, aggravating an old injury.
Harris is luckier than most people. She has no medical insurance, but workers' compensation is covering her medical bills and providing a small income.
Like many people, however, she lives from paycheck to paycheck, and the six weeks that passed between her accident and the arrival of her first workers' compensation check severely strained her budget.
By mid-October, she was behind with her rent and her electric bill. Roanoke's Social Services Department helped her with the electric bill, and her children pitched in $300 and paid her rent for October, but she still needed help in November. She turned to Roanoke Area Ministries.
This was the third time in the past 16 years Harris had come to RAM for help. This time, the money for the rent came from the Good Neighbors Fund.
Other agencies have treated her well, Harris said, but at RAM "they make you feel at home. I would recommend this place to anyone."
Those who give to the fund "really help out a lot of families," she said. Harris does not know when or if she will be able to go back to work. In addition to her injuries, she has severe arthritis.
She misses her job, and said her patients miss her. She has been back to visit them, and they always ask when she will return.
Even if she eventually is declared disabled, Harris said she would try to find a part-time job. "I'm not a person to sit around."
Checks should be made payable to Good Neighbors Fund and mailed to Roanoke Times & World-News. P0 Box 1951, Roanoke 24008. Names - but not amounts of donations - of contributing businesses, individuals or organizations, as well as memorial and honorific designations, will be listed in the newspaper. Those requesting that their names not be used will remain anonymous. If no preference is stated, the donor's name will be listed.
Gifts cannot be earmarked for any particular individual or family. Gifts are tax-deductible.
by CNB