A 73-year-old single woman, Beatrice is a wheelchair user who’s struggling to make ends meet. At the time she applied for assistance, she was borrowing money from a family member to pay her monthly rent.
Because of her financial difficulties, she had cut off her cable and landline phone, using her granddaughter’s cell phone when she needed to make calls. In addition, her apartment was not wheelchair accessible so she could not get around much, living largely as a shut-in. Her children, grandchildren and friends were trying to help her until she could find more affordable and wheelchair accessible housing.
Thanks to a determined case worker, subsidized housing was located for Beatrice, but she needed assistance to pay the first month’s rent. She received financial assistance through United Way funding and in December Beatrice was finally able to move into her new apartment. Now Beatrice has regained her self-sufficiency and independence and is no longer a shut-in struggling to survive.
