Ms. P.'s Story

 

Ms. P. is a divorced 82 year old client of the Care Management Program. Ms. P. lives alone in a walk-up apartment, and has one daughter she is not close to and very few friends. Ms. P. was referred to One Stop by a Dorot social worker in the Summer of 2008. At that time Ms. P. was engaged in a legal battle with her landlord, who was suing her for thousands of dollars of back rent, despite a prior verbal agreement that she could live in her apartment for free due to their personal ties. One Stop referred Ms. P. to Manhattan Legal Services, and attorney Rubin Englard agreed to represent the client in court. Rubin eventually negotiated a beneficial settlement with the client’s landlord. The settlement did not involve the client paying the arrears. One Stop subsequently arranged for the client to apply for SCRIE and her rent is now frozen at its current level. The case worker also helped Ms. P. to research and apply for other more handicap-accessible housing options, and she is currently on the wait list at several buildings nearby.

 

One Stop also helped Ms. P to apply for an ongoing stipendiary grant from the Isaac H. Tuttle Fund. The Tuttle fund now pays the majority of the client’s rent each month, which allows her to pay her other bills and make ends meet on her limited income from Social Security. In addition to the ongoing Tuttle grant, the Tuttle Fund also purchased a new mattress for the client for which she was very grateful, and Tuttle has agreed to pay for Ms. P's Personal Emergency Response button, which makes her feel safe from falls while at home.

 

In addition, One Stop enabled Ms. P to obtain HEAP and Meals On Wheels, and the case worker applied and received a grant from the Society for the Relief of Women and Children to purchase a new and much-needed refrigerator and toaster oven for the client’s kitchen, as well as an additional emergency grant for her to purchase new eyeglasses.