The Time is Now: Couple facing eviction, grief find new hope

Sal Dimiceli | November 15, 2016

Dear W.C.,

My husband and I lost our 43 year old son, our only child, nearly two years ago in a car accident. He was hit by a drunk driver. He was in the hospital for two weeks before he died. He was going through a divorce before he died. At the time of his death he was not legally divorced yet so she got everything when he died.

Our son lived with us at the time of his accident. He paid rent, part of the utilities and helped us around the house. He was driving our car in the accident. We only carried liability insurance for our car that was totaled so we lost our vehicle as well. Our son not only helped us around the house, he also helped us make ends meet. Without his help or a reliable car we are really struggling.

We already lost our home to foreclosure and are now awaiting eviction. We have nowhere to go without a security deposit, first month's rent and a reliable car to put our things in. My husband has had several strokes and is unable to work. I have Rheumatoid arthritis and several other medical problems that have really flared up since the death of our son, our foreclosure and pending eviction. We have not been able to get to the doctor as much as we are supposed to without a car.

We just can't seem to get past this painful time both mentally and financially. I hear my husband cry sometimes when he knows I'm in the other room. Sometimes we just look at each other and begin to cry together. We can't believe we made it to this age, this point in our lives, only to spend it alone and homeless.

Dear Readers,

The tragedies we see and read about each day at The Time Is Now to Help keep us continually thankful for our strength to continue with our mission.

I had recently prayed to God to lead me to those most in need, those truly suffering the effects of living in poverty. I really feel God listened to my prayer as ever since that day there has been some very difficult situations brought to my attention.

Many of our fellow Americans are struggling to get by in poverty, while also struggling with their own health, disabilities and sometimes family tragedies. This senior couple was going through all of these difficulties. It seemed like life had thrown everything heart and spirit breaking at them at the same time. I knew we were called upon to not only ease their pains of poverty but also to ease the pains of loneliness and disabilities as much as possible.

I went to the address of the foreclosed home they were still living in. At the time I had paid a visit they had only two weeks in order to pack their belongings and vacate the home. The home was rundown, with tall weeds and a sagging roof on the garage. I could see it had been sometime since it had seen any maintenance. When I knocked on the front door I noticed the loose old windows and peeling paint. When the door was opened by the elderly wife I could see the house was poorly maintained inside as well.

After our introductions the wife invited me inside to meet her husband. I made my way into the small living room, crowded with a walker and lots of old furniture. It was easy to see they were having a hard time taking care of everything on their own. The wife kept apologizing for the condition of the home but I assured her it was fine. I knew physically they just couldn't keep up with caring for themselves and an older home that needed maintenance as well.

I asked the husband and wife if I could take a look around the home and they gave me their permission. I walked through the small kitchen only to find more of the same, old appliances, stacks of papers, prescription bottles and a nearly empty refrigerator and pantry. An old sagging mattress was in the bedroom.

The only other bedroom still contained their deceased son's few belongings and some sports trophies from when he was a child. The door had been closed to this room as I felt it was probably too painful for them to look at as they walked by each day. It would be even more painful for them to have to pack up their sons belongings.

They were indeed seniors that had fallen through the cracks while they tried to keep making payments on their home, pay high utility bills on an old drafty house and keep up with their medical bills. How could they ever financially afford to move into an apartment, physically pack and move all their belongings and mentally move on without a family support system? I knew The Time Is Now to Help could give help in these areas.

I sat in the living room with the husband and wife to go over their situation. It would take a lot of organizing and hard work to get this disabled senior couple where they needed to be.

After listening to their painful story of the loss of their son, going over their budget and transportation needs, I excused myself to make several necessary phone calls. My first call was to volunteers for food, and then I called another volunteer to search for available senior housing. My final call was to one of our car program volunteers to arrange for the couple to receive one of our donated vehicles. The husband no longer drove due to his multiple strokes but the wife had a valid license and was more than capable of driving them both to their medical appointments and food shopping.

The hardest conversation was talking to them about the many belongings they would not have room for in their next housing arrangement. T

he wife said, “I know we have too much stuff in here. When my son died his wife brought over piles of stuff she didn't want and left it on our door step. We didn't know what to do with it so some we brought in. The rest I called someone to pick up. We should have just let them have all of it but we couldn't bear to part with anything that reminded us of our son.”

The wife began to cry then and when I looked at the husband he too had tears in his eyes. I asked them both if they were ready to part with any of it now and they both nodded their heads in agreement. I asked them if they would like to make a list with me and then we could have volunteers come in and move some of the items for them.

When I told them this they both looked relieved when they said, “You would do that? We were so stressed and overwhelmed about what we were going to do with all this stuff. We can't afford a storage unit and we shouldn't keep all of this anyway.” After assuring them we could do this for them, that we had volunteers that loved to help in any capacity, I could see some of the stress leaving their faces.

After walking around the house with the wife, even venturing into their sons room and making a list of items to be given away, the wife stopped me as I turned to walk out of her dearly missed son's room.

She touched my arm and said, “Would you mind saying a prayer with me in here? It has been so hard for me to come in this room ever since my son died, but with you here that feeling has changed. Now it feels like my son is telling me it is time for us to move on. That you are here for a reason, like you were sent by an angel.”

This brought tears to my own eyes as we said a beautiful prayer together surrounded by her memories of her son.

After a week of making arrangements for an affordable rental, volunteers that helped move out the items that would no longer be needed in their new lives and packed the remaining items that they would take with them, it was time to move the senior couple.

The sheriff's eviction was scheduled for the following week and they would be homeless if we did not move quickly. We paid the first month's rent and security deposit on a small rental that would be much easier for them to maintain. No stairs, working appliances and much lower utility bills. These savings allowed for them to afford food and gas and insurance for the car we provided.

We also surprised them with a new bed and bedding. They did not realize we had done this until they went to bed the first night in their new apartment. I received a voicemail that night filled with happy tears and gratitude for everything “We” did for them. I could hear them both shouting into the phone, “Sal where did this new bed come from? You are so thoughtful. We never told you how bad our backs felt when we got up every morning. You were already doing so much for us we couldn't ask for a mattress too. Everyone at The Time Is Now to Help truly are angels sent from above.”

When I stopped by a few days later to see how they were getting by I noticed how much better both the husband and wife were doing. No longer did I see the stressed, worried faces. Gone were the tears and slumped shoulders. The wife was moving freely around her new space, no longer burdened with piles of unnecessary belongings. She showed me the shelf in their living room dedicated to their son. She had added a few photographs and one of his trophies stood proudly next to them.

I told her how nice everything looked and especially how good she and her husband looked. The wife gave me a hug and said, “We just can't thank you, The Time is Now to Help and your wonderful volunteers and supporters enough. We felt like we died along with our son and now we feel like living again. That is because of all of “You” reaching out to us and changing our lives. Even our health has improved. I can't even explain how much this has changed our lives.” I hugged her in return telling her how glad “We” were that “We” could be there to help.

The assistance we have been providing and continue to provide has all been thanks to the Barnabas $50,000 Matching Grant and all of “You”. A big thank “You” and God Bless “You” for making our mission of poverty relief a reality.

Health & Happiness, God Bless Everyone,

W.C./Sal

Please Help: There are many coming to us in desperation. Our good fellow creations need our compassion. Together we make a big difference. Make checks payable to: The Time Is Now to Help, P.O. Box 1, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. The Time Is Now to Help is a federally recognized 501(c)3 charitable organization licensed in the states of Wisconsin and Illinois. You will receive a tax deductible, itemized thank you receipt showing how your donation provided assistance for the poverty stricken.

A Very Special Thank You: Barnabas Matching Grant, Fox Charities, The Petco Foundation, Martin Group, John Stensland & Family, Amazon Smile Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Richard & Ann Peterson, Yvonne Davis, Richard Gleason, William & Jean Isaacson, Sid &Patty Johnson, DC Mitigation, Gerald & Joyce Byers, Dorothy Tookey, Cyndee Sentieri, Robert & Shirley Lipinski, Tana Baldwin, Dennis & Jeanne Ludwig, John & Mary Peterson, Dale & Gail Folkers, Gerald & Marilyn Wilkin, Al & Geri Hinton, Michael Burke, Mary Dunham, John & Vickie Geier, Donald & Anne Ogne, W.C. Family Resource Center/Food Pantry volunteers, and all the God loving volunteers of all our caring pantries, ALL of you who support The Time Is Now to Help donation boxes, and the businesses that allow our & donation boxes.Anyone who would like a Time Is Now donation box in your business, please call (262) 249-7000.

Inspiration Ministries Resale Shop: Please donate your gently used household items and furniture to the Inspiration Ministries Resale Shop. For local pick up of major items or collection appointments please call (262) 275-2264. Inspiration Ministries Resale Shop is located at N2270 State Rd. 67, Walworth, WI 53184. New hours: Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays. Please visit often knowing your support will provide life changing assistance for the fellow creations in their care. Inspiration Ministries is home for up to 80 residents that live with multiple physical and mental challenges. I thank all of you for helping. For more information visit www.inspirationministries.org.

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