Overwhelming Needs of the Forgotten Poor
December 22, 2009
Gladys Jackson’s front steps are treacherous. Last week I almost fell when I stepped up from the concrete blocks to her rickety porch. The outside of her trailer is in rough shape with loose clumps of tattered insulation and exposed wiring. In fact, it’s hard to believe that the trailer inside is in much worse condition than the outside.
As I walked further into the trailer I tripped again, this time over an orange extension cord that ran haphazardly from a nonfunctioning kitchen to an old electric heater in the living room and then out the window into an adjoining old trailer.
To get from one trailer to the next meant walking carefully across a wobbly, pine bridge with a mangled cardboard overhang above. As I entered the second trailer, Gladys was boiling water to make sure the bottles were safe and clean for the children. There was no running water in either the kitchen or the bathroom in the back trailer, but it does have a working stove and 2 bedrooms.
Both dilapidated trailers are fire hazards and it amazes me how Gladys raises her four children so well in this awful situation. She is especially proud of her eldest girl who attends college with the aid of a student loan and a partial scholarship. Her daughter has always worked extremely hard to get good grades despite her unfortunate home conditions. One night, a raccoon sneaked up through a hole in the girl’s closet and scared everyone half to death. Gladys sealed the hole with plywood, but strong winds have loosened the board and it no longer keeps the raccoons and mice from coming in.
This is a dangerous situation for the children, especially so because Gladys has an autistic son who needs help most of the time. He’s a big boy but has to wear diapers. Going from one trailer to the other he sometimes forgets which bathroom is out of order. Gladys is patient with him and often has to clean him up after he has forgotten again.
Gladys’ husband works a part-time, minimum paying job with no health benefits. If their poor living conditions were not enough, you would think that with four kids and barely surviving on a limited income, they could not take on anything more. But, Gladys has a compassionate heart for others she feels are “needy.” When Lenesha, a young mother and her little barefoot child showed up hungry and tired, Gladys and her husband not only took Lenesha in, but also gave her their own bed. The parents are now sleeping on a mattress on the floor of their son’s room so that Lenesha and her child can have a private place to sleep during this damp, penetrating cold weather.
Gladys reminds me of the poor woman in the Gospel who put all she had into the temple treasury. Our Lord Jesus applauded her selfless gift. I’m reminded that you have made similar sacrifices to the Edmundite Missions. Your faithful donations have been the backbone of our outreach to the poor in Alabama for over 70 years.
Knowing that Gladys is caring for her family and others in pitiful circumstances, Sister Rosemary and Sister Kathy have planned how to help improve the trailers. I must raise enough funds to connect the two trailers, fix the broken plumbing and repair the leaking roof. In addition, gaping holes in the trailers must be sealed in order to properly heat the rooms and to keep the rodents from getting inside.
We must rely entirely upon your generosity for the labor and supplies that will provide Gladys and her family with decent, safe housing. Estimated fix up costs, plus the purchase of a fold-out sofa bed and the replacement of two stained mattresses will cost $3,710. Your compassionate gift will help not only Gladys, but also others who turn to us to aide their unmet needs.
The needs of the forgotten poor are so overwhelming to me when I see the suffering and despair during these increasingly troubled times. Your much needed sacrificial gift will ease the enormous discomfort of Gladys and her family, who have nothing but each other, yet they are sharing what they have with families in similar situations. The poor see the face of Christ in others less fortunate.
May God bless you,
Rev. Richard Myhalyk, S.S.E.
