Seniors on modest Social Security income benefit greatly from Fireside Fund

When I was a small kid, my dad traveled from one client’s home to another. I loved to load books and plush animals into his car and ride along.
Over those years, I witnessed how many folks live, especially seniors in rural areas. A few of them would ask my dad to bring me by for a visit at Christmas and would inevitably hand me a dollar or two as a gift.
Those experiences have never left me, and it gives me great pleasure that one of our focal groups for assistance at Sumter United Ministries is low-income seniors. Sumter is a small town, and many of our seniors grew up in an era when you quit school early to work the farm with your family. This was also a time period of one-income households and stay-at-home mothers.
Now, as seniors, their Social Security payouts are incredibly modest. At the Crisis Relief Ministry, we see hundreds of seniors each year on incomes of $1,200 or less, many of them living in simple homes they own in rural parts of the county: Rembert, Lynchburg, Mayesville, Pinewood and Wedgefield.
It might be surprising to some that assistance is often more difficult to acquire for seniors than for younger applicants. In a nutshell, our senior clients are often the most deserving.
We interviewed a 70-year-old woman from Rembert for kerosene this week. She owns her home, but it is an older, drafty home. She has no heating system but uses a few electric and kerosene heaters. She felt out of place asking for assistance, but we tried to reassure her. We gave her a kerosene voucher to ensure that she was warm for many days to come.
We also interviewed a 70-year-old man who lives in the northern part of the county in the Ashwood area. He struggles for transportation and does not own a car. He rents a small residence to keep his expenses within a $1,100 monthly income. He did not ask for much but uses kerosene to heat his home. He was grateful for the assistance to stay warm with an impending storm on its way.
These basic stories of assisting seniors are plentiful. They may not have the flashy, dramatic details, but they paint a picture of a populace that needs a hand up in difficult times with challenging circumstances in an adverse season in life. It is most rewarding to be here to help them. Thank you for your donations to the Fireside Fund to help seniors like these and other neighbors in need.

Kevin Howell is the director of the Crisis Relief Ministry at Sumter United Ministries.

New donations as of Jan. 10: Guy and Karen Chapura, $100; in honor of Floride and Grainger McKoy, $100; Janice Oden, $100; Ann Hubbard, in memory of Ashley Fitch, $100; George and Genney Waynick, in memory of George and Madlyn Waynick, $100; and Church Women United of the Greater Sumter Area: $100.