Nonprofit group comes to homeless family's aid (97 YO woman)

[Alameda]

Source: Los Angeles Times

A 97-year-old homeless woman living with her two sons in a battered 1973 Chevrolet Suburban in Venice has received a temporary home, compliments of a nonprofit Los Angeles housing group.

Bessie Mae Berger and sons Larry Wilkerson, 60, and Charlie Wilkerson, 62, had parked nightly on Venice Boulevard after losing their home in Palm Springs and failing to find a place to stay in Northern California.

But a Times story on Friday that detailed their plight prompted authorities from the city, L.A. County and the state to step up efforts to assist the trio and led a year-old group, the Integrated Recovery Network, to offer them immediate shelter.


By Bob Pool

October 20, 2009

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bessie20-2009oct20,0,3817101.story

[fascisthunter]

1. kick(nt)

[LakeSamish706]

2. Now thats a feel good ending to an otherwise horrible story... Nice to see that...

their still is some compassion out there yet.

[yellerpup]

3. I read that story yesterday.

Nice to see that the media is covering stories that matter. Thanks for posting! :kick: & R!

[conscious evolution]

4. This is good news

That story left me in tears.

[nolabear]

5. Lord knows, none of the FOR profit groups jumped in there, did they?

Why? Because corporatios are not people, no matter what they try to pull. People see other people with empathy. Corporations see people as potential profits or deficits, and that's all. I don't care what they tell you, how sweet or familiar the music is behind what they're selling you, how much they promise, what kind of "team spirit" they try to infuse you with. They are organizations constructed with one and only one goal in mind, to get as much money as possible, even as you are living out your last days in a car.

Remember that next time they ask you to trust them. It only goes as far as the bottom line.

Edited for typo.

[Sinti]

6. YAY!! thanks for the update - I figured someone would lend a hand :) n/t

[BluinTX]

7. Well, at least one piece of good news for today!

:D

[Alameda]

8. FWIW....I sent am email to Bob Pool, the reporter here

He replied to my email. Here is what he said:

Hi XXX -- Thanks for your note. Things have changed dramatically since Friday’s story about Bessie Mae Berger and her sons was published. It prompted responses by agencies from the city, the county and the state that are now looking for long-term solutions to their situation. For the short-term, a privately funded nonprofit organization has found temporary housing for the three in an assisted-living facility. No fund has been established to benefit them, although operators of a Venice center have set up a mailing address for those interested in directly contacting Bessie and her sons. It is: Larry Wilkerson, % Westside Center for Independent Living, 12901 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca. 90066. We will publish a follow-up story in The Times. Thanks again for reading the Los Angeles Times – Bob


Here was my response:

Thank you for the update Bob...

They should not need extra financial assistance. They get Social Security, or SSI. She has Medicare. Both her sons qualify for Medicaid. If you add up their finances, they get around $1012 per month, and they use her other son's $300 a month food stamp allowance. They all should be eligible for food stamps.

I know people who live in Government assisted housing pay only 1/3 their income for the housing. One friend of mine, who is 81 years old, only gets about $500 a month Social Security, and she does quite well on it. She (my friend) is in good health, and active both physically and mentally. All this is to say, the problem is not their income, the problem is with their knowing how to navigate and manage the system. Having connections helps.

Most the time people in these situations are so beat down and not capable to jump through the hoops they need to get help. It should not be so difficult to get help.

Thankfully for them, your story in the LA Times highlighted their situation...sort of like turning the lights on in the kitchen and catching the cockroaches. Of course they got help. How long will that help persist is the question, and how many others are out there like them?

[Gormy Cuss]

11. I hope that your reply gives the reporter an idea for another story on navigating the system.

People who haven't been through it haven't got a clue how hard it is.

[Alameda]

12. How right you are! There seems to be a real art to it.

It's tragic. I've known some who really needed disability, but didn't get it.....and they died waiting. I've also known others who have who knows what wrong with them....and they get a lot. I think we all know about this, don't we? It's unfortunate the ones who need the help the most are the least likely to get it, unless they have an advocate. I hope these people have help for as long as it takes for them...maybe all the rest of their lives.

You know another thing I've been thinking? It's amazing that woman who going through all this is even alive at all. She must have some seriously strong genes. I doubt I would last a week in such a situation.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. He said they were in assisted living facility.

It is my understanding that such places are expensive.
Even here in the cheap South, our local one, which has been here for years, costs 2 K a month, for ne person.
Hopefully someone is exploring disability payments for the one son.

[Thickasabrick]

9. OMG - this is wonderful news!!! nt

[lunatica]

10. .

[NJCher]

13. I'm really happy to hear this

This story so depressed me. The thought of someone getting to 97 and having to live like this almost put me over the edge.


Cher

[WinkyDink]

14. Okay, this? " 97-year-old homeless woman"? SHOULD SHAME AMERICA.

[Bigmack]

16. This country

KNOWS NO SHAME! Ms Bigmack

[WinkyDink]

17. I guess that's because America is so "Christian". AS IF.

[Stephanie]

15. PHOTO

[Rozlee]

18. Finally ! Something to smile about.

I've been bummed out since reading her sad story yesterday, and this is the bomb! I'm so happy for her. She's so old and frail to be sleeping in a car.

[donheld]

19. good news