I hope there’s a missing part of this story where future meal deliveries are arranged and this man is not forced to beg for help to which he should be entitled. This is exactly what tax money should go for.
I’m not crying, really. It’s just allergies.
(I really love these kinds of stories. It’s a shame that they’re too few and far-between.)
I’ll bet all of his neighbors are church-going Christians.
(The fact that I’ve just learned yet another friend has just been diagnosed with cancer might have put me in a mood.)
Man, this is just heartbreaking. I hope the exposure gets him some neighbourly friends.
I know that in theory, there is meals-on-wheels, and there are programs to help folks in need, connect with resources they need. I also know from experience how convoluted those systems can be.
I kind of wish 911 dispatchers didn’t have to become self-appointed social workers… but maybe sometimes that’s exactly what needs to happen.
Why is he living alone?
Back in the 70’s we had actual social workers. Today we’re addressing this story by talking about “reforming” Social Security and Medicare. Those lazy seniors have it too soft, apparently.
Decades ago when I delivered food boxes (something I’m sorry to say I haven’t done in far too long) I wondered how some of the people got the assistance they needed. One woman I’ll never forget lived in a one-room building without electricity, and probably without running water, since all I could see was a partial wall that divided the bedroom from the front room. In retrospect I wish I’d thought to ask how the volunteer organization found her in the first place.
And while I can understand how people become cynical I also think that when someone asks for food it’s hard to see that as a con.
I’m sorry your friend has just been diagnosed with cancer, but also glad that your friend has at least one friend. I’ve lost friends to cancer, but it wasn’t until I was diagnosed and went through treatment myself that I realized the value of a support system. That’s what really hits home about this story: this man didn’t have anyone he could turn to.
Well, in a way I suppose he did, but he had to turn to a system that’s not designed to help people like him because it’s so hard to find a system that is.
This type of story could easily have ended in this guy’s arrest also.
Nice that we’re taking care of the elderlies. Help is always just one 911 call away, assuming they’ve been paying their phone bill.
The priorities of this country, man. [shakes head]
:pedant: 911 works even if your phone service is shut off :/pedant:
You’re assuming it’s a cell phone. Land lines cost money just to keep a dial tone, there’s no way to get free 911 only service on a land line.
/pedant
Apparently, it depends on the state- http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/05/update-about-911-and-disconnected-landlines/index.htm
The truth in your statement varies wildly in the U.S. Some states require landlines to maintain active service to 911 even without paid service. In some areas, carriers just keep the connection live, forever.
Well that is a first. Holy smokes…
I never knew I could spontaneously burst into tears for merely reading an article headline and looking at a picture.
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