Community Action Helps People Make Ends Meet

GD and his wife are both diabetic and with their costly bills struggle to have enough to afford healthy foods. On a regular basis, GD visits Highland County Community Action Organization’s food pantry program for help. The agency changed their intake process for the food assistance program to include a full assessment and realized they could provide more assistance to GD and his wife.

Community Action Fills in the Gaps

Helen, a 64 year old home health aide, worked hard her whole life providing for her family. She had married soon after graduating high school, but divorced early in her marriage. After that, she moved in with her aging mother and raised her two children; working continuously over the years to support the family. In her fifties, Helen developed a serious heart condition, which required ongoing medical care and medication therapy. While working full time, she had health insurance and was able to manage the costs of her care. However, her mother passed away, her children moved out of the house and her job was eliminated. Now Helen was living alone in the house she grew up in and struggling financially.

Community Action Helps Diabetic Continue to Get Medication in Time of Need

Kathy is a diabetic who takes two types of insulin to manage her condition and tests her blood sugar three times a day, but after being injured in 2010 she had to switch from full-time to part-time work and was struggling to pay for her expensive medications after the decrease in income. At 60 years old, Kathy doesn't qualify for Medicare yet and was unable to successfully manage her diabetes.

Breast Cancer Survivor Able to Continue Treatment

A breast cancer patient was taking the prescription Femara for her ongoing therapy. But when her husband's company stopped offering employees insurance coverage she did not know how she could afford the expensive drug for the next two years needed to complete her therapy.