I am disabled, and with my SSI income I can't afford a car loan. I've been trying to find a way to get a vehicle again, but I am having no luck at all. I am a survivor of domestic violence, and currently am homeless living out of a tent in the woods with my partner , and a small kitten we rescued. I also survived the California wildfires, and I need a vehicle to get to and from appointments, try to get off the streets, and to go back across the country toward home. I came out this way on a road trip to see my dying family , dad with stage 4 copd , mom with bad diabetes and neuropathy so bad she may lose one or both legs, sister with cancer, brother with a heart attack. I have HIV, hep c, a failing left ventricle, and all the walking around I have to do is so strenuous I collapse some days. I get winded quickly and I definitely cannot run. My partner also has HIV and other ailments. My last vehicle became disabled, and a 7 11 towed it and I was unable to find it to get it repaired; it was taken right before Christmas last year, and had everything I owned in this world in it- in St Louis Missouri. We have been out in the cold this winter and it's been a living hell. I don't know how much more we can take. Our little family struggles daily, and my credit score is 583 and I don't know anyone to cosign for a loan for a vehicle. I truly am at my wits end. I've been poor my whole life, but I usually find a way to make it work. I'm starting to lose hope.
Volunteering for SGSM Network as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) has been an amazing experience so far. The organization's values, vision, and mission all focus on keeping older adults happy, healthy, and living safely in their homes for as long as possible . The employees and volunteers that staff SGSM Network, both inside and outside of the central office, are kind, warm-hearted, selfless people who do what they do to help improve the lives of older adults in the St. Louis area. Everyone who works for SGSM Network is extremely passionate about what they do. It has been an honor to work for this organization for the time that I have, and I look forward to continuing to improve the lives of older adults for the remainder of my term as a VISTA.
I'm currently a VISTA volunteer at SGSM Network. SGSM Network is a network of churches working collaboratively to meet the needs of the older adults in our neighborhoods.
Our goal is to create a local community response to the needs of older adults living in our neighborhoods. We do this by providing fill in the gap services - simple things that many older adults simply cannot afford and/or do not have support around them to do. We provide minor home repair, yard work, transportation, socialization and health promotion activities and services to and by older adults in the St. Louis area.