A Bronx Tale

Family Composition:

Ms. Jones* is a 67 year old female who lives with her 21 year old son, Billy Roberts*, and her four grandchildren. The granddaughters’ ages are 16 and 8 and the grandsons’ ages are 6 and 1. All family members speak English and are American citizens. All six family members live in an apartment together.

Case Concerns:

Main concern is finding enough food. Second concern is finding employment.

Medical Information:

All family members are healthy and have no chronic illnesses or health problems that affect work. The son, Billy, does have an anger management problem, but is working to control the issue. She is in the clinic for an annual check-up for a grandchild.

Action Plan:

In order to get food immediately, Ms. Jones was going to go to some local food pantries and get food for the next week. While waiting for the doctor’s appointment, she filled out a food stamp application and she was going to go to apply sometime within the week. She was also sent a job resource sheet and she was going to go to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau: Bronx Works to see if they could assist her in her employment search. A follow-up call revealed that the food stamp application process had been slowed, but she was put in touch with a man who could interview for food stamps over the phone. She was then unable to show up for a scheduled meeting for food stamps. Further steps will be taken to reschedule the meeting.

Social/Work History:

Ms. Jones has had some college education as well as many jobs in various fields such as secretarial work and care giving. However, now she is the primary caregiver for her grandchildren. Although she is healthy, she does get tired because she “running around” for her grandchildren. The living situation is suitable and Ms. Jones does not have a problem with their apartment. Ms. Jones desperately wants to obtain a job and hopes to do so in an area in which she has experience.

Story:

Ms. Jones and her son live with four children. They are both unemployed and they are not able to afford enough food to adequately feed everyone in the household. As the month goes on, the finances get tighter and food gets scarcer. Because both Ms. Jones and her son are unemployed, there is no steady income for the family. She is willing to travel for her job and/or receive specialized training. Her son is also willing to do the same in order to find a job. The first guardian to gain employment would keep his or her job and the one remaining unemployed would provide care for the children of the home. The main issue is the one concerning food. Ms. Jones was able to get food from food pantries and the food stamp application is still pending. The job application is still pending, but she has been put in contact with various resources. When Ms. Jones was last contacted, she was having trouble obtaining specific medical records for her grandson. She was helped with that and has since been out of contact. However, when further contact is established, a follow up on all issues will be made.

--Kathryn McCaleb, CC '11