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7 selections of fresh vegetables
6 selections of
fresh fruits
7 varieties of
frozen meats
5 bags of
non-perishables
1 bag of paper
products and personal care items
Gifts from a Secret Pal
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The seniors in our Senior Citizen Project
have all had their share of ups and downs. Joan is certainly no exception. She has lost those closest to her, and, in recent
years, had to move away from her friends. She says that her life is a “total
360 from what it used to be.”
70-year-old Joan was born
in Chicago and raised in Cicero. She is an only child. She divorced her
first husband of 11 years before marrying Tom, who she says “was a wonderful
man and never forgot her birthday.” In May 1993, after 25 years of marriage,
he died right in front of her while they were watching a movie at home, but
jewelry was still delivered on her birthday three months later. Then, in a
short amount of time, her friends and family started to pass away. Joan took care of her mother, who suffered from
Alzheimer’s, for 21 years. She also took care of her step-father, who had major heart
problems.
Joan once owned beauty
parlors and worked as an alcohol counselor, but her true calling was
painting. She says that her grandfather gave her a crayon when she was a
toddler, and instead of scribbling, she began to draw. In her busiest years,
she was commissioned to paint jazz musician Pete Fountain, singer Diana
Ross, and a number of politicians whose portraits now hang in the National
Archives in Washington, D.C. Joan says that she had to stop painting when
helping her family turned into her full-time job. Once she got more free
time, Joan moved away from her existing network of artists and clients and
says that acquiring new clients can be very time-consuming and difficult.
She knows that she is “very good” and truly misses painting on that scale.
Joan suffers from
hypertension, poor hearing, chronic back pain, and a chronic cough due to
bronchitis. She cannot walk much due to her knee problems, and has had hip replacement surgery. She has
seriously injured herself from multiple falls, one of which occurred shortly
after her husband’s death. During a short hospital stay, her home was robbed
and her family jewelry, cat, and bird were taken.
A desire to keep herself
updated and learn new things keeps Joan reading regularly. She is interested
in health and psychology, and uses the internet to research those subjects.
She is very social and enjoys intelligent conversation, but has been limited
by her difficulties with walking. Unfortunately, she does not see her closest friend
as much as she would like to, but speaks with her on the phone as often as
possible.
Joan has a monthly income
of $944 to pay for her rent of $344, and medications and insurance that total
$174. HSP schedules monthly deliveries of 90 lbs of food, which have been
a tremendous help to her. She says that the fruits, vegetables, and meats
are perfect and there is “no way I can express my gratitude.” Thank you for
empowering us to continue to give Joan a reason to smile.
Things to Remember about Joan:
• Joan’s birthday is August 28, 1937.
• Her income is $944 a month.
• She enjoys arts and crafts.
• Her favorite color is red.
• Her favorite flower is the carnation.
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