Free Clinic Patient in financial trouble - 11/14/14

A patient of the Medical Outreach Clinic was seeking medical attention when during his intake his financial situation came up.  The single man is disabled and has been seeking disability but in the meantime has been supplementing his food stamps by selling items at the flea market at the Fair Grounds.  Normally he makes enough to just get by but these past few weeks with the Coastal Carolina Fair in town the flea market has lost a lot of business.  He had an electric bill that was due and hoped to be able to pay it but with the decrease in his sales / income he was unable to pay the bill.  Change for a Dollar offered to help him in part on his bill and made a payment towards his balance due.  He was confident he could pay the balance in the weeks to come as SCE&G would give him additional time since a substantial payment was made.

 

Amount: SCE&G Payment - $200

Single Mom with no heat - 11/11/14

A referral came from Rural Missions, a Johns Island ministry directly to the Ashley Ridge Church office.  A Summerville single mom with four kids living in a house within the East Edisto region was without heat in the home she recently purchased.  The house needed a full heating system which was beyond the means of Change for a Dollar.  During discussions as to how Ashley Ridge Church could help in some other way the thought of an indoor Kerosene heater came to mind.  The mother was comfortable using the heater as she had used them in the past. Change for a Dollar supplied a 23,000 BTU heater and a container with 5 gals of kerosene to get her started.  The heater appeared to be able to heat the small house until a more permanent solution could be found.

 

Amount: Kerosene Heater - $206

Rent deposit for displaced family - 11/11/14

An ARC owner referred a Summerville family with children for consideration for Change for a Dollar.  The father of the family works but his income is seasonal and they had been getting by.  Recently they were told that they needed to relocate as their lease was not going to be renewed.  The news was sudden and unexpected and put a hardship on the family finances.  The new apartment they were moving to required a significant deposit for which they did not have.  Change for a Dollar helped the family by paying the deposit on the new apartment

 

Amount: Apartment Deposit - $400

Phone card for homeless man - 10/2/14

There is a homeless man from Summerville has been helped in the past by Change for a Dollar.  He was very appreciative of past help and as a result his faith has continued to grow.  As his faith grew he asked those who were in his phone contacts if he could share a daily devotional / periodic bible verses with them.  He has been doing that for the past couple of months.  This past month he was unable to come up with the funds to pay his monthly phone charges and notified his contacts he would be stopping his texts as a result of termination of phone service.   Ashley Ridge Church Change for a Dollar anonymously paid his monthly charges – he texted his appreciation and his devotional texts continues.

Amount: Boost Mobile - $49

Food card for homeless man - 10/20/14

An ARC owner works in Charleston.  On her morning commute she often sees a homeless man on the corner seeking help.  She felt compelled to do something for him.  ARC Change for a Dollar suggested a food card to offer him to establish a relationship and see if additional assistance may be needed.  She agreed and gave him a $25 gift card.

 

Amount: BiLo Gift card - $25

Summerville family financial bind - Sept 24, 2014

An ARC owner from Summerville became aware of a family with four children that has fallen on hard times.  The husband works as a landscaper and with the inclement weather has missed many days of work.  With four kids in school and one starting college the family finances that were barley covering expenses became further stretched with the loss of the work days.  Due to the shortfall of income they fell behind in their bills and the electric was in danger of being turned off.  Ashley Ridge Church, Change for a Dollar plus some assistance from other churches has prevented the electric from being turned off.  The family was confident that once the husband got back to a regular work schedule they will be OK.

 

Amount: SCE&G $150

Abusive family situation - 9/16/14

An ARC owner from Summerville has a neighbor who is a young mother and has been in an abusive relationship.  Last week the abuser was jailed for assaulting the mother and the mother needed to be hospitalized.   She does not have a job and relatives (who are temporarily caring for the children) don't really have the means to provide for the family.  Ashley Ridge Change for a Dollar helped the family out with a food gift card.

 

Amount: Bi Lo $100

Single Mom with Autistic son needed help - 9/11/2014

An ARC owner works at the Trident Health system has a coworker who recently relocated to the Charleston area.  She is a single mom who has an Autistic son who moved to SC for a better way of life for her family.  She has been struggling with care for her son and has met with delays in getting him into the care system in SC.  As a result she has incurred large amounts of debt for the care for her son while she works.  Her son remains on waiting lists for assistance but in the meantime her finances have been stretched to the breaking point and is behind in some bills.  The ARC owner referred her to ARC Change for a Dollar and we helped her out with a Bi Lo food card and paid her SCE&G bill

 

Amount: SCE&G - $340.00, Bi Lo $80

Man just released from prison – needs prescriptions - 9/6/14

A local Summerville man who was just recently released from prison was dealing with several health issues.  He came to the Medical Outreach Clinic of Summerville for medical attention.  The prison had released him with some medication, which has run out, and he remains unemployed but is staying with a friend.  As a result of his exam he needed several prescriptions that he could not afford.  ARC Change for a Dollar worked with Guerin’s Pharmacy in town to provide the prescriptions that Change for a Dollar paid for.

 

Amount: Guerins - $86

Woman battling cancer needed assistance - 9/3/14

A single mom who is battling a recurring cancer asked for assistance.  Her disability was expected to kick in at the end of the month but currently she was in financial need.  Her greatest need at the moment was the electric was in jeopardy of being shut off for outstanding balance. Ashley Ridge, Change for a Dollar helped her out by paying the outstanding balance on her SCE&G account.

 

Amount - SCE&G $200.00

Military family with unexpected expenses - 8/26/14

A young Air Force family with two small children were caught up in difficult situation.  The wife recently had to seek employment with a new employer and was required to attend a two week training program in North Carolina.  The job was an excellent opportunity for the family but as luck would have it the husband was temporarily assigned to a mandatory one month out of state training assignment for his job within the Air Force. The two training assignments overlapped and put the family in a difficult situation for child care while they were both away at training.  The only available option was to drive the two young boys to Texas to stay with grandparents.  The round trips to Texas and the lapse in pay between jobs stretched the family finances to the breaking point. They had to borrow money from the other out of state grandmother just to buy groceries.  Ashley Ridge church helped them out by providing food cards to help lighten the load.

 

Amount: Bi Lo $200

Auto accident results in job loss - 8/24/14

A young man from Summerville was involved in an auto accident where his car was totaled.  Unfortunately he had only basic insurance and no collision.  As a result of the accident he suffered a bad head injury that need significant medical attention as well.  Between doctor visits and loss of transportation he lost his job at a local retail store.  He was getting some help from local friends which has been significant.  Change for a dollar helped with a food card to Bi Lo and also helped lightened the financial stress by paying his electric bill.

 

Amount: Bi Lo $100, SCE&G $250.00

Homeless person phone card – 8/20/14

A local Summerville homeless person was approached by and ARC Owner and asked if he needed any assistance.  He indicated he was OK with food, etc. but says his phone had run out of minutes and it was his only means of staying in touch with the outside world.  He said he would greatly appreciate any assistance with getting his phone recharged.  ARC Charge for a Dollar purchased for him a prepaid phone card to recharge his phone.

Amount: $50

Sisters living together - 7/20/14

A teenager and her older sister live together. Both girls have been abused by family members so there is no family support what-so-ever. Older sister has many medical problems and was on disability but her disability has expired (she is in the process of disputing this). They live with a roommate who also has medical issues, but is employed. Teenager has been working 40 hours a week and going to school. Teenager’s and Room-mate’s income is not enough to cover all the medical bills and living expenses. Change for a Dollar was able to give them $100 in grocery gift cards and $100 in gas gift cards (Older sister’s doctor is in Mt. Pleasant and they didn’t have enough gas to get there and back).  Also, due to the loss of income, they got behind on their electricity bill. Change for a Dollar paid $250 towards their electricity bill.

 

Amount: $200 in gift cards & $250 towards Electric Bill

Woman needs to see Oncologist - 7/10/14

Cathy, a single woman who is a cancer survivor and is currently applying for disability.  During a routine doctor visit a specific complaint of pain was being treated by the doctor at the local free medical clinic.  In a chance follow up call from the MUSC program that treated her for cancer two years ago she shared her recent complaint.  They arranged for some tests and as a result she needs to have another visit with an Oncologist to review the test results.  There is a fear that the cancer has returned.  She currently has no income and up until now has had help from family members.  A friend has offered to drive her to MUSC but needs gas for the trips.  Change for a Dollar provided her with a gas gift card to cover the cost of being driven to her appointments.

 
Amount $50.00

Working single Mom fell behind in bills - 7/11/14

Jane, a working single mom with a young child recently got out of an abusive relationship.  Her ex-husband has not been providing any support for his child.  Jane has been working for temp agency and is currently with a local bank and is hopeful that soon she will be taken on as a full time bank employee.  Last month she had an auto accident and missed several days of work,  She also had an unexpectedly high electric bill.  Her rent and all the other bills are current but she does not have enough income this month to make all her payments.  She has applied for and been approved for food stamps but the EBT card is not due until mid-month.  Change for a Dollar inquired about this month's electric bill (~$100).  Change for a Dollar paid this month's electric bill and provided her with a $50 gift card to Bi Lo for groceries to tide her over until she gets the EBT card.

Amount $150.00

Cancer survivor needs PET Scan – 6/22/14

Cindy a single mom with two teenage children is a cancer survivor.  Cindy had to undergo treatment two years ago for cervical cancer and was cared for through a program offered at MUSC.   The surgery and treatment was covered by Medicaid at that time and was successful.  Earlier this year she had begun complaining of pain in her right hip and lower back and was being treated for that by a family medicine physician.  The MUSC program doctor recently made a follow up contact with Cindy to check on her health.  She shared with him the issue of the hip and back pain and he asked her to come in for a visit.  Based upon the consult with the MUSC doctor he wanted her to get a PET Scan at MUSC.  Unfortunately, she is no longer covered under Medicaid and needs to pay cash for the PET scan.  MUSC required a $100 deposit for the procedure and Cindy would be billed for the remainder at a later date.  Change for a Dollar coordinated with MUSC to pay the deposit so she could get the scan enabling her doctor to better diagnose her problem.

Amount $100.00

Two Free Clinic patients need medications – 6/13/14

Two patients from the Medical Outreach Clinic in Summerville, a free clinic that serves the uninsured who have limited resources, were in need of prescription medications following their doctor visit.  Raymond and Angela were not able to afford the medications prescribed.  Guerin’s pharmacy in Summerville partners with the Medical Outreach Clinic of Summerville in providing medications to patients from the clinic.  Ashley Ridge Church, Change for a Dollar, on occasion will help those patients in paying for their prescriptions through the clinic and pharmacy relationship if they do not have the means to do so.  Change for a Dollar covered this month’s prescriptions, plus a refill for both Raymond and Angela.

Amount $100.00

SIngle mom w/ 4 kids becomes homeless – 5/16/14

Stephanie, a Summerville mom is a mother of four children, ages 9, 9, 4 and a one year old.  Her husband was recently arrested and jailed for some outstanding bench warrant and they have been renting a house in town.  Recently the electric and water were shut off and she called the landlord about it and he told her the house was foreclosed on, utilities were terminated and they needed to get out.  Her case came to Change for a Dollar through an ARC owner who works for the school district and shared the details of the circumstances. 

Stephanie was trying to find a place to stay and was reaching out to various agencies for help but was overwhelmed at the moment.  She had sought help from her husband’s parents (the children’s grandparents) but when she stopped by they told her they did not have room for the five of them and they gave her a bag full of candles and told her to go back to the house they were being evicted from.

The needs of this woman are great but Change for a Dollar at a minimum offered to put her up in a local hotel for two nights so the children would have a place to stay and it bought her some time to try to find additional resources and help for her family.

Amount $158.94

Change for a Dollar – 5/12/14

Lisa, a single mom from Summerville, who had to recently leave her husband due to domestic violence is caring for her 3 yr. old granddaughter as well as her two teenage sons.  Her daughter had been living with her since March but left the house a few weeks ago and has abandoned her daughter to her mother’s care.  It also became evident this past week she was arrested and is currently in jail.  The mother's case came to Change for a Dollar through an ARC owner who works with the woman and was made aware of the circumstances.  Also the grandmother’s car recently broke down and she is borrowing a car to get to work but has missed some work as a result of the extra burden of caring for her own children and the grandchild.  She is seeking help from Social Services who is helping her get legal custody so she can get some assistance for the grandchild.  Her co-workers have been helping her as well but she complained this week she had no food for the children and her rent was past due as she didn’t have the full amount to pay this month because of the cost of child care etc.  ARC Change for a Dollar helped out with a gift card to Bi Lo and made a partial payment towards her rent

Amount $75 plus $300 – total $375