On this Thanksgiving in the Season of Sharing we will meet some of the very inspiring senior citizens and disabled people I met while going along on the food deliveries for shut-ins provided by the Fort Bragg Food Bank. They all found something to be thankful for, despite having very, very little. They all gave a big thank you to the Food Bank and even some to the paper. But this year, these oldsters have as many fears as thanks on their minds.
Sharon Godsey is one of those people who inspires others, no matter what the holiday season. She lost a leg in an accident not long ago. She could no longer work and was very thankful to find a place at Moura Senior Housing, which is also available to people with disabilities. She was a familiar sight behind the counter in local inns and motels prior to that.
She didn’t let her new situation truly get her down. She wouldn’t have guessed beforehand whether she could do that. She is more likely to help and be thankful than ask for help or complain.
“When I got into this place, I just said here I am and now I have to move forward.” She wears a prosthetic and dresses up in a way that most don’t even know about her disability.
But on the morning after the election, Godsey had found fear coming out of the television. She relies on programs outside Social Security such as Obamacare. I arrived that morning with the one-man Fort Bragg Food Bank delivery crew, warehouse manager Jim DiMauro.
Sharon was very afraid the election would lead to her losing her medical benefits. While many local seniors, low wage workers, the disabled and even some homeless people are thankful for the Fort Bragg Food Bank this Thanksgiving, they are also more worried and feel more vulnerable than ever.
With the clients in a post-election haze and Jim moving at breakneck speed. I was definitely in the middle. We delivered big, heavy boxes of staples like rice, cereal, USDA cheese and dried cranberries to seniors who can’t get to the Food Bank at Fort Bragg’s two senior complexes, Cypress Ridge and Moura Senior Housing. When these two housing complexes were built, they met a big need. Now the need for senior housing has grown far beyond their capacity, even with another large complex being built that also serves many seniors and low income. I was along to do the story so obviously I had to tote some boxes. The job being done by Jim used to require two people. He was happy for the help, if not the “delays” my socializing caused.
These two complexes are testaments to how well Fort Bragg treats seniors. They are clean, easily accessible and near needed medical services. I would live in either of these places myself. I’ve seen and written about senior housing in the Sacramento area and other states and wouldn’t say that there.
But getting old isn’t easy. The vast majority of these people rely heavily on local services, like the Food Bank and many others. More than 90 percent are single or widowed, according to statistics offered by the management . I met several who no longer have family in the area or are alone. This is my third trip like this with the Food Bank in the past six years. Many of those people we saw on past trips are now deceased.
Needy new people have taken their place. Waiting lists can be as long as four years now. This was a morning like no other. Not being old enough for Social Security, Godsey was more upset than most by the election. She had been watching television non-stop when we arrived.
“You have to get away from the tube,” I said.
“I know that. I’m just scared to death. I’m looking to just find something out about what might happen,” she said.
This election season was universally called the most horrifying in history. Now, the fear of losing health coverage has made the worries worse. The good people who live meager lives in senior housing are a special kind of vulnerable. They mostly don’t drive and are dependent on others. The almost all live on a small fixed income. Government programs don’t allow an elderly person to have any assets and get any help beyond SSI and Medicare. The senior complexes are clean but not any kind of utopia, or anything like the standard of living many of these folks lived in their whole lives. And yes, there were some complains, such as about changes to communal facilities at Cypress Ridge.
And there was no soothing answer to give Godsey, or others who were worried about their federal lifelines. But as we drove away with a cart full of food, I thought how important now it is to have non-governmental agencies be a comfort and source of security.
On Food Bank rounds in years past, I met Ingeborg Hartung, who told me a fascinating tale that included watching her male classmates being drafted into the German army as young as 13, then living only a few days or weeks in battle. Hartung was a teenage student in Germany during World War II, immigrating to Canada after the war, then New Jersey, eventually fleeing again to California, running a restaurant in Weed and raising three sons. I was thrilled to see her still here. Her impeccable home in Cypress Ridge is still full of her art but Inge is much less talkative now. Times go by. All these pleasant residents are people limited by time, fixed incomes, mobility and sometimes memory.
Judy Williams, manager of Moura Senior Housing, said the Moura family is still involved in the 38-unit project, which was built in 1990 . She said the complex recently lost its last original tenant.
Moura Senior Housing was developed and needs federal housing financing to operate. The property utilizes three federal housing programs to make rent affordable to lower income tenants. These programs are Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Section 515, and Rural Development Rental Assistance. Advocacy groups say some of these programs are now at risk, but the new administration has not made any statement about USDA or other funding at this point.
Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, rumored a possible Trump choice for Housing Secretary, has staunchly supported low income housing. To live at Moura, one must be 62 years old or disabled.
Kris Morris was another younger person delighted to have found a spot in this subsidized housing. Her solace on the day after election and most every day is her big and friendly dog Lanee. Although Morris can’t get out much, she managed a GoFundMe campaign when Lanee’s life was in peril. She fondly tells stories of her years with her family in Leggett.
I believe politicians of both parties would get a reality check if they went on one of these trips. There isn’t a single person that I have ever met in these nice, simple little homes who is any sort of “freeloader.” These people would be hurt and some probably dead without the help of Meals on Wheels from the Senior Center, their Social Security and Medicare and organizations like the Food Bank, who often provide a rare friendly visit as well as needed food. In the days before Thanksgiving and Christmas, Food Bank crews take the full meal, turkey and grand fixings. These boxes of food weigh more than 20 pounds, but the deliveries are happy times for all.
Knowing Jim, I knew I wouldn’t get any election opinions out of him for the record.
When we were done, he informed me that my talking and notetaking had only added six minutes to the route. Funny how different we all are and how we can all be together and still thankful despite trying times. These Food Bank folks are great and really helping shut-ins. You too can help these shut-in seniors and disabled people by helping the Food Bank.
Checks for the Season of Sharing can be made to the Food Bank and mailed or dropped off at 910 N. Franklin Street. Please put “Season of Sharing” on the memo line. No amount is too small, the Food Bank can stretch every dollar. Your donation will go a long way towards making the lives of your friends and neighbors better. Donor names will be printed in the following week’s edition, unless they wish to remain anonymous.
