ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512170009
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: the good neighbors fund
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
In September, when Lorrie Hughes went to see the apartment she was hoping to rent, she wondered why the landlord was all bundled up indoors.
She also didn't get a very good look at the place, because it was getting dark and the power was off. But the rent seemed reasonable, so she didn't ask too many questions.
Later, when she tried to get the gas and electricity connected, she found out the building was such a fire hazard that the utility companies had refused to provide service for the past five years. To make matters worse, when she finally saw the apartment in the daylight, she discovered it was swarming with roaches and rats.
Hughes paid the rent for one month but never moved in. She and her two children were homeless during October and much of November, sleeping on floors and couches at friends' homes.
Hughes, 34, is disabled because of injuries she received in a traffic accident when she was 20. Her right arm is paralyzed, and this fall, she broke the wrist on her good arm.
Unable to use either hand, she had to drop out of college. She wants to work as a mental health counselor, she said, but until her wrist heals, she will have to put that dream on hold.
Hughes gets by on a $700 monthly disability check, $109 in food stamps, and child support payments from her former husband. Her schooling is being paid for by a Pell grant.
She has been to Roanoke Area Ministries and the Presbyterian Community Center for assistance. RAM has helped with her electric bills through its emergency financial assistance program, which is supported by the Good Neighbors Fund, and the center has provided money toward utilities and rent, as well as food and clothing.
"They've helped me out over the years from time to time," Hughes said. In November, when she needed to make a deposit on a new apartment, caseworkers at the center found the money for her.
Besides providing financial help, center employees are there when "I need a shoulder to cry on," she said. "There are some good ladies working here."
Last Christmas, after Hughes asked for "a few presents" for the children, center employees found a church that provided two carloads of food and gifts.
"We just stood there, crying," Hughes said.
She is grateful for all the assistance she has received. "To help someone to better themselves has a good, positive effect on the community," she said.
Checks made payable to the Good Neighbors Fund should be mailed to The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 1951, Roanoke 24008.
Names - but not donation amounts - 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.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB