Doesn’t the logo look great on our new van!!

I can’t begin to tell you how much the new van means to the agency, but maybe someone else can…

Dianne Pitts, senior housing counselor, interviewed an older, single woman who came from New Horizons Shelter.  During the interview process, Dianne found out the woman had been a victim of domestic violence.   “Bonnie” had been living with her daughter and her boyfriend for about 6-8 months prior.  Bonnie suffered physical abuse from the boyfriend.   Visible bruises were present.  Police were frequently called to the home.  During the last police visit, the officer stated that one of them would have to leave.  This is when the daughter spoke up said, “Good bye, Mom.” 

Bonnie had suffered many years of physical abuse from her husband; she lost most of her teeth when he threw a VCR in her face.   He met an untimely death and at that time, Bonnie moved in with her daughter.

Bonnie has several health issues, diabetes, arthritis, among others.  Sitting in the office with Dianne, Bonnie had all her belongings with her, three plastics bags and a knapsack.  Because of the diabetes, Bonnie asked if Dianne could refill her water bottle.  Dianne inquired when Bonnie had last eaten and found that it had been more than 5 hours and supper was still another 5 hours away.  Dianne then gathered various food and water items for Bonnie to take with her.   During the budgeting conversation, Bonnie expressed a sadness at not having any family or close friends to celebrate birthdays or holidays with.  This is often the case when physical abuse is involved, as the abuser will isolate the victim. 

Bonnie asked if we had bus passes so that she could go to her physical therapy appt at CMC (on the other side of town).  If not, she said that she could walk there.  Dianne responded that we could do better than that – she could have a ride in a new van that had been provided to the agency. 

During the ride over to CMC, Dianne took the opportunity to talk about the other services that Bonnie would be able to take advantage of.  Bonnie was excited at the prospect the cooking and money management classes.  Dianne explained how the Salvation Army offers holiday dinners to folks who are alone and the opportunities to “adopt” or be with children who may be looking for that “missing” grandmother in their lives.

We will continue to work with Bonnie, coaching her to make better life decisions until she ready to be self-sufficient.

This is just one of our stories, each one of our housing counselors hears of similar events on a daily basis.

Thank you to Ride Away, Londonderry, NH, for making a difference.