Homeless woman in car, needs help with title loan – May 20, 2016

A Summerville woman and a friend are both homeless.  They technically are a couple and don’t want to be separated. They are living in a car at the moment and neither of them were interested in going to Charleston to stay at the shelter, although it is currently full for women.  Trident United Way was working with them to get them the services they were entitled to.  The woman owns the vehicle but has a title loan on the car.  She had fallen behind one month and was concerned about the vehicle being repossessed.  TUW called Change for a Dollar to see if we could assist. Change for a Dollar paid one month of the past due loan and the current month covering the loan until June 15th.

Title Loan Payment - $236.00

Expanding the Table guest has no Air Conditioning – May 20, 2016

An elderly Summerville woman often joins Expanding the Table for dinner. One evening a volunteer gave her a ride home because she walked with a cane.  When he helped her into the house with her belongings he noticed the oppressive heat inside the house.  He asked about the air conditioning.  She told him she lived with her brother and she was not allowed to use the AC when he was not home.  The volunteer asked if she could use a window AC unit.  She asked her brother and he indicated she could use a window unit for her bedroom if she could get one.  The volunteer asked Change for a Dollar if we could make that happen.  Change for a Dollar purchased a small window unit and the volunteer delivered it to her house.

Window AC Unit - $138.03

Single mom with special needs son struggles – May 16, 2016

A single mom cares for a special needs child.  The small boy usually is watched by the grandfather while the woman worked.  Recently the grandfather has become ill and is not available to help with the child care.  As a result she has been missing a lot of work.  This young woman works for an ARC Owner who has been trying to help her as much as possible.  Recently her phone ran out of minutes and the ARC Owner was unable to contact her.  Change for a Dollar paid for one month of prepaid minutes to get her phone turned back on so she can stay in touch and contact others in seeking help with the child care.

Verizon Payment - $49.22

Young couple battling cancer – May 12, 2016

A young couple is currently battling cancer.  An Ashley Ridge Church Owner became aware that the woman she knew had recently become ill.  The wife has had multiple surgeries as well as chemotherapy and radiation for the cancer.  It has been hard for her to work.  The husband who works as a server at a local restaurant has been missing a lot of time from work to take his wife back and forth to the hospital for treatments.  They are struggling to pay the bills.  ARC Change for a Dollar has helped them out by paying two months of their electric bill.

SCE&G Payment - $400.00

Homeless drifter trying to get “home” – May 1, 2016

A 52 year old man has been homeless for the majority of his adult life.  He is a very pleasant and sober fellow but a true drifter in the sense of the word.  He has traveled about the country working when and where he can but living for the most part on the streets.  In the past year or so he has come down with severe COPD which makes it difficult for him to breathe especially in cold climates.  He was in the southeast for the winter and recently lost his wallet and all his important papers.  Without an ID it was next to impossible for him to get work especially with his illness but he was trying to "walk" home to Ohio to get new ID's.  He was in the Charleston area when he became weak, malnourished and fell sick and collapsed on the streets in West Ashley.  He was treated at Roper St Francis hospital but was discharged once he was stabilized.  The hospital called the men’s homeless shelter in Summerville asking to admit him as they were worried about him being on the streets.  He was not looking to stay at the shelter but rather wanted to try to get back to Cleveland OH where he was born to get his ID’s reissued.  He has an older sister there also.  In the past his sister helped him a little financially but she herself became ill and was unable to do so. She said if he could make it back to Cleveland he could stay with her for a while until he got his affairs back in order.  Change for a Dollar helped with getting him a bus ticket to Ohio.

Bus ticket to Cleveland - $149.00