August 2011

Seventy-one year old Lyle Tessman, who had spent his entire working life in Southern Oregon, was lonely and vulnerable after having recently lost his wife, Susan to cancer.

He had bought diamonds and travel for Susan and, when Nikki (care giver) came into the picture after Susan, he had signed contracts obligating him to pay for a cell phone, TV, and stereo for her. He also gave "beer money" to Nikki so that she and her twenty-something friends could have fun. 

May 2011

Verna Cerace's bank account racked up over $200 in "non-sufficient funds" charges in a matter of days. As far as she knew, she had plenty of money in her account.

After some detective work with the bank, it turned out not to be identity theft but instead stemmed from an unauthorized charge made to her account by her satellite television provider, DirecTV.

"I was moving from Redding to Central Point to be near my family because of my cancer," says Cerace. "

April 2011

Tanya Forbes received a letter last November from the State of Hawaii notifying her that she owed $7,500 in back child support payments.

The only time her children had been in someone else's custody was for three months when her mother cared for her kids in 1989. The state government had the name of Tanya's mother in the database, but her mother has been dead for five years, so she could hardly be claiming back child support.

This was the first time Tanya had heard about this issue.

The explanation was complicated: the original child support alleged to be in arrears was a small amount from a time she lived in Ventura County , California , with twenty-one years of interest tacked on. The Hawaii government was attempting to grab Tanya's federal tax refund for as many years as it took to recoup the money they said she owed.

"I called and asked about all that interest, and they said it took them this long to find me," says the Medford single mother of three. "But I've been paying taxes every year, and I had the same job forever, so it couldn't have been that hard to find me."

March 2011

Randi Hays has been looking for work for two years. Unsuccessfully.

“You know you’re judged by your appearance,” says Hays, a Medford resident.

Hays moved to the Rogue Valley with her 2 ½ year old son in 1999, living initially at Medford’s Dunn House after escaping domestic violence that landed her abuser in jail. She believes her employment difficulties are due, in part, to her teeth.

Over the years, her teeth have been slowly deteriorating, and dental work has not always been successful. She has no lower teeth and few uppers.

Hays found Help Now! through a referral from Community Works’ Helpline. Over the years, Help Now! has received sporadic requests for emergency dental work from indigent individuals and families, but the pace of such requests has increased markedly over the past year as state dental assistance to low income and disabled individuals and families has fallen victim to state budget cuts. Fortunately, Help Now! has compiled a network of dental professionals who are willing to donate assistance to Help Now! clients.

Hays’ situation, was more complicated than usual. Dentures were needed requiring both dental expertise for impressions and fitting as well as a lab for their creation.

February 2011

Bruce Dawson returned from the hospital at 5:30 in the morning to find his motel room door open, belongings scattered, and the shower door in pieces. After waiting all night at the hospital while his caregiver was undergoing treatment, Dawson was exhausted, and struggling without the assistance of his helper.

He navigated his wheelchair to the telephone and called the police. An officer took a report and left.

"Later that morning, the manager of the motel called and told me I had to leave in two hours. He blamed me for the broken shower door," says Dawson.

Dawson, a disabled Marine Corps veteran, had already paid ahead for several nights, leaving him without enough cash to pay in advance for another motel.

"I'm on disability. I get my check on the first of the month. I was moving from Long Beach to Medford at the time and looking for a more permanent place to live," Dawson explains.

Desperate, Dawson called the Oregon Disability Services Office, and they referred him to Help Now!

After talking to the motel manager and getting nowhere, Help Now! Executive Director Larry Kahn asked the police to return to the motel to reassess the situation. After the second officer looked things over and spoke to Dawson, the officer took the motel manager aside to speak to him. When Kahn again called the manager following the manager's talk with the officer, Kahn found an entirely different attitude. The manager agreed to refund Dawson's unused payment and allowed Dawson to stay until the afternoon to give time to find a place and move.