Relatives Raising Children

Grandpa and Grandma S are grandparents in their fifties raising their two grandsons. When I first spoke to these grandparents in June of 2008 the grandfather informed me that he had his own janitorial business with his main clients in Olympia. His wife was not working and had been having medical problems.

The grandfather originally contacted me because he needed car repairs so that he could continue working. He also needed some larger clothes for the boys because they were growing. In addition, they were running short on food.

The grandpa was bringing home about $1200.00 per month and received a grant from DSHS for $440.00 to help with expenses for the grandkids. Most of the income each month was going to rent and gas for getting grandpa to work. I was able to refer grandpa to an agency to help with paying for car repairs. I also referred to many food and clothing banks.

In July grandpa called because they had received a shut off notice for their power. We were able to use funds from our program to keep their power on. While I was talking with grandpa to make arrangements for this he told me that he and his wife both desperately needed eye exams and glasses. They did not have health care coverage and he was having a difficult time seeing when he was driving.

Thus began a five month journey to get them glasses. I began by trying to contact their local Lyons Club. Over and over I called and e-mailed people. I ran in to one dead end after another. This went on for several months.

During this time I also referred them to another national eye glasses program, but it was not able to help them. I also referred them to a program to get reduced rate medical coverage. There is a VERY long waiting period.

Then, in November I received a call from Grandma. She was terrified and crying. She had a growth on the back of her hand that was painful and kept growing. She still did not have any health care coverage. She did not know what to do. I referred her to some local clinics and told her to let them know that she had no health care. Due to the nature of her medical problem I was sure she would be seen.

I talked to her soon after and found out that she had been seen and that it was a cyst (not cancerous).

Still the couple needed glasses.

I should also mention that during this time, the economy took a nose dive. Grandpa's janitorial business was not doing well. He began losing clients due to the economy. This is a very resilient and resourceful grandpa. Grandpa began collecting and selling scrap metal on the side to help make ends meet.

Yet they still needed glasses.

In November I spoke to a community organization about the Relatives Raising Children Program. While there I spoke about some of the general needs of our families. One of the men who attended was from the Lions group. I spoke with him about the problem I had getting help fore this family. He promised to connect me with someone who could help.

In the matter of a few days, the grandparents had received a letter saying that they had been accepted by their local Lions group to receive free eye exams and glasses. When I spoke with the representative from the Lions group he told me that the eye glasses were not the fanciest looking frames. They are all pretty basic style he seemed to apologize.

When I passed this on to grandma, she said." I don't care what they look like. I just want to be able to read the newspaper again!"

By Christmas they had a lot to celebrate. They finally had their glasses! (And some extra Christmas gifts for the kids too)