2-1-1 Lake County Success Stories 2018

211 Lake County received a telephone call from a female who was very concerned that she had a gas disconnection notice and a snow storm was on the way.  She was referred to Lifeline’s HEAP Winter Crisis Program, PIPP and HEAP as she qualified for all three programs. 

Over the course of the discussion, she revealed that she was receiving treatment for breast cancer. She was too ill from the treatments to be able to continue to work.  Without her income her family, which included her husband and two (2) children, one 17 and one 12, were really struggling financially.  She was also unable to clean house because she was so ill. 

She was referred to Cleaning for a Reason, a program that would clean her home for free for two months while she was receiving chemotherapy. She was also referred to the JD Breast Cancer Foundation, which could assist them with mortgage payments, property tax payments, electric, gas, telephone payments, gasoline and car repairs. She was also referred to health related support groups. 

She was very thankful as she could not concentrate on becoming well again while her family faced so many issues.

For 10 months 211 did not receive a call from her, but she called late in 2018 to update us. She said that she felt that had it not been for 211 connecting her to resources to help her family and allowing her to focus on beating her cancer that she would have given up the fight against cancer and not be with us today. She was proud to report that she is now cancer free and said “How much better can it be?”