Patricia is recovering from tough times and hopes Lend a Hand can help with back rent
Editor's note: The following is a profile submitted by South Shore Community Action Council for The Patriot Ledger's Lend a Hand campaign. The person's name has been changed to protect their privacy.
This has not been an easy year for Patricia.
The Duxbury resident, 64, raised her daughter, who is now an adult, on her own and has been dealing with depression and anxiety, which have been obstacles in her day-to-day life, for several years.
Her obstacles, however, heightened this year. While working as a nursing assistant, her hours were drastically reduced before she was eventually let go.
Within two months of being out of a job she contracted COVID, which prolonged her unemployment. During that time, Patricia’s rent increased $200, something she was not prepared to handle, financially or mentally.
She is now again employed and has been working to pay off her back rent. Asking for help has been a difficult task. Patricia feels guilty and has said she feels like a failure because while she is putting in all this effort, she cannot seem to get ahead. Always looking out for her daughter, Patricia has not expressed her financial burdens to her daughter. She believes she is shielding her daughter from her troubles and reaching out for help was difficult because she felt someone else would need it more than her.
With encouragement from her doctors, and the desire to find help, Patricia ended up applying with South Shore Community Action Council’s Emergency Assistance program. In that time, she was provided with a bag of food and a gift card to help ease some of the financial problems associated with food. She is currently working with case managers at the agency to help resolve her past-due rent. Patricia was very thankful for the assistance she’s received so far and expressed her comfort to speak with the staff about her troubles.
Who does Lend a Hand help?
Donations to Lend a Hand help fund the social services programs and resources for its three partner organizations: the South Shore Community Action Council, Quincy Community Action Programs Inc. and Aspire Health Alliance. Lend a Hand only takes monetary donations, which go to the agencies. We invite you to open your heart and wallet to help your South Shore neighbors.
About Lend a Hand
Lend a Hand, The Patriot Ledger's annual holiday charitable program, began in 1998 and has raised more than $3.3 million for South Shore families and people in need.
How to donate to Lend a Hand
Donating is easy. In the print edition of The Patriot Ledger, look for a coupon to cut out and send with your check or money order. It’s amazing how many people take the time to clip the coupon, fill it out and take it to the post office. It’s very inspiring and the reason why we continue.
There are three ways to give:
First, there’s the coupon in the newspaper. Please note the new address (3 Webster Square PMB #467 Marshfield, MA 02050) to send donations to as well as the other instructions on the coupon.
You can donate securely online through PayPal. All credit cards are accepted, and you don’t need a PayPal account. Search: Ledger Lend a Hand Foundation.
Call our friends at Ansaphone at 617-424-9825 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
If you have questions about The Patriot Ledger's Lend a Hand campaign, email newsroom@patriotledger.com and put "Lend a Hand 2023" in the subject line.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Duxbury woman battled COVID, unemployment. Can you Lend a Hand?
