By Tricia Pursell
NORTHUMBERLAND — After managing a mall store for 10 years, and working a second job at a local restaurant, it has been hard on a Northumberland woman, who asked not to be identified, to now spend her days at home because of illness that has plagued her since January.
The 48-year-old suffers with breathing and heart problems and has been forced to rely on disability payments.
“Everything just kicked in at once,” she said. “It was a big change.”
“I didn’t even want to go on disability,” she said. “My doctor told me I had to do a reality check.”
Her 54-year-old husband was laid off from his job four years ago, after work at the private company he was employed with in Sunbury drastically slowed. His unemployment payments ran out in 2006.
He tries to find odd jobs wherever he can, she said. But they have no assured income from day-to-day.
Thankful that they do not have credit card bills or gasoline expenses, they still have high propane costs and “everyday bills that everybody else has,” she said.
“We’re trying to keep the house going,” she said.
They have lived in their home for seven years.
Her 26-year-old son is temporarily living with them. After leaving his job about a year ago, he received unemployment compensation and had to move in with them because he could no longer afford to live on his own. He has been looking for other work.
“When you don’t have specialized training, it’s tough to find a job,” she said.
This Christmas was the first they had approached the Salvation Army for assistance. She is grateful the organization will provide her family with food for the holiday.
Her husband has four grown children who may stop in for a visit, she said.
“This is the first we ever had to ask for help,” she said, adding that it was a difficult but necessary decision. “The way the economy is, there are a lot of people in this situation, from what I understand.”
Recent donations were as follows: Fredrica H. Stringfellow Selinsgrove $25; Debra and Woody Wolfe, in memory of Barbara Shoemaker, Danville, $25; Susquehanna Bank, Sunbury, $1,000; Angela and Christopher Brouse, Lewisburg, $25; Debra K. and Woody Wolfe, Danville, $25; Dale and Cheryl Robuck, Northumberland, $50; St. John’s Lutheran Altar Guild, Snydertown, $200; Linda L. Mowery, in memory of husband J. Daniel, Sunbury, $50; anonymous donations, $302.28. Account Total: $22,444.72.
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Needy Family Fund
Donations go to buy food, clothing and gifts for the less fortunate in the Valley. Contributions are tax-deductible. The fund is sponsored by The Daily Item, Sunbury Broadcasting Corp. and Susquehanna Bank. Contributions may be taken to any Susquehanna Bank office or mailed to:
Needy Family Fund
Susquehanna Bank
400 Market St.
Sunbury, PA 17801
2009 goal: $75,000
