In 2020, we all experienced loss. Although it may have been in varied spaces and forms, we’ve all had something stop existing in the way it did before.
For Joe, COVID-19 brought about unexpected, unimagined, and unfortunate circumstances that impacted his health, home, and everything in between. Joe, a local senior, was homeless and living in his car for nearly a decade when the pandemic began. And because Joe has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), he often struggles with long-winded conversation or traveling by foot, limiting most of his day-to-day activities. Even more so, his obstructed airflow from his lungs, due to COPD, renders him oxygen dependent and among the most at-risk for COVID-19.
When Joe began experiencing economic hardship due to COVID-19, he stopped using his oxygen. Devastatingly, Joe was hospitalized. While hospitalized, his home (vehicle) was impounded and on the same day, his Social Security Income (SSI) was terminated.
Nearly every aspect of Joe’s life had seen loss and nearly every aspect of his life, within a few days, stopped existing in the way it did before.
Joe turned to Neighborhood’s Late Life Depression Program, a collaborative care program for seniors, in partnership with Interfaith Community Services. The same day that Joe sought assistance, Neighborhood was able to contact the following local programs on his behalf: San Diego 211, Legal Aid, Access to Independence, and Interfaith. Joe was connected to their Homeless Court and Rental Assistance Programs.
Because Joe has shortness of breath, he cannot speak for long periods of time. Neighborhood served both as his mouthpiece and more importantly, his advocate.
Neighborhood was able to coordinate with community care partners to reinstate Joe’s SSI benefit with a retroactive payment that allowed him to purchase a new car and to receive a higher monthly SSI benefit. In addition, Interfaith was able to extinguish $2,500 worth of impoundrelated fines that accrued each day while he was in the hospital. Interfaith was also able to provide a deposit and rental assistance for Joe so he could experience the everyday luxuries of running water and electricity, alongside a bedroom and bathroom.
For the first time in ten years, Joe was able to stretch his legs fully and sleep vertically in a bed rather than in the backseat of a crowded vehicle. And for the first time in a long time, he was able to use a stove to cook his meal rather than relying on fast food…or no food at all.
For the first time in ten years, Joe was able to stretch his legs fully and sleep vertically in a bed rather than in the backseat of a crowded vehicle. And for the first time in a long time, he was able to use a stove to cook his meal rather than relying on fast food…or no food at all.
With the help of Neighborhood and its relationships with valued community partners, Joe was given a second chance. Joe’s story is more than one of situation or circumstance, it’s one of unwavering support during life’s most difficult chapters.
To review more patient stories like Joe’s, please review our Patient Story Book.