By Drew Johnson
We are fortunate enough to see some pretty inspiring stories unfold at South County Community Services. I wanted to share a story today of someone who worked hard to turn his situation around and someone who we were privileged to work with.
Bruce is a senior who lives in Scotts. He lives alone out in the country, with little support from family or friends. He describes himself as a “loner.” We worked with Bruce and his wife years ago but hadn’t heard from him again until he called us in early June for help with a large past-due utility bill—due for disconnection right before an unseasonably hot weekend.
We found out that since we had last spoken, Bruce’s wife Robin had passed away. She was the one who managed the finances, and in the process of the changeover in social security checks, Bruce was now receiving physical checks in the mail with no way to get to the bank to cash them. To make matters worse, he did not have a current ID and was running into roadblocks trying to get a new one.
Bruce was also very depressed. “I felt physically sick from thinking about everything I had to do and how overwhelming it all was. I didn’t think there was any help out there or that anyone would care about an old man and his cats.” He called SCCS because we had helped them in the past. But he didn’t expect much. “I don’t know what made me call… I had no idea what would happen.”
We immediately got to work. Austin was able to place a hold to prevent Bruce’s disconnection and allow him to get onto a payment plan. Brian and I went out to meet with Bruce and signed him up for Meals on Wheels through Milestone Senior Services and Supplemental Senior Food Box and Pantry deliveries though SCCS. We also had him fill out an intake for the SCCS Transportation Program, which turned out to be invaluable. Since then, Bruce has scheduled rides with us to both get his new ID card and to open up a bank account with direct deposit for his social security checks. On the second trip, he also purchased a new cell phone, which will make it much easier for us to stay in contact with him and for him to get other services. Now that he is through the most difficult problems, we are looking at ways of getting him a ride to programming at the South County Senior Center.
Now Bruce says, “I’m feeling much better, I’m feeling proud. It has motivated me to want to go out. There really are people out there who care—you forget that when you are feeling depressed.” He is very grateful for the services that he has received from SCCS, and praised everyone who he worked with here. “I really like how you all work together, and how you don’t just send me on to the next person. I don’t know where I’d be without you guys.”
Bruce was excited to talk to me for this column. The main message that he wanted to get across is to reach out when you need help. “I’ll be so happy if my mug can scare someone into reaching out and getting the help they need. Depression makes you think that no one is out there who can help, but that’s not true.”
Drew Johnson lives in Kalamazoo and is the director at South County Community Services. He has a small quarter acre homestead with chickens, bees, and hops (and more!), a wonderful wife, and three energetic children. He can be reached at 649-2901 or ajohnson@southcountycs.com.
For more information on South County Community Services, please check out our Facebook at facebook.com/southcountycs or visit our website: southcountycs.com.
