The needy in NEPA have many faces [Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal]

The real trouble began for Angenika of Scranton beam when she arrived home from her second military deployment in Iraq.

"When I stepped off that plane in 2009, I knew I was in trouble," says Angenika. "I'm not making excuses, but since then, I've lost everything I had, and I am officially homeless."

Angenika, who is still listed as an active-duty member of the U.S. Army, describes her current condition as "deplorable". She endured sexual trauma during the deployment, and now suffers from post-traumatic-stress disorder and severe anxiety.

Ultimately, Angenika resorted to alcohol to self-treat her problems. She also says that the Army owes her paychecks for July, August and September, totaling $3,500 for each month, and that the loss of this money is the root cause of her homelessness.

"I begged my unit leader 100 times for trauma and alcohol counseling, but nothing happened," says Angenika.

Searching for a ray of financial hope, Angenika turned to the United Neighborhood Centers (UNC) in September. Her residence had previously been robbed and then condemned, leaving her with no place to live.

UNC paid for a hotel room for four days, and produced a voucher to be used as a first month's rent when Angenika found permanent housing. So far, this search has proven fruitless, because the available apartments have been given to other prospective tenants.

When discussing her situation, Angenika displays various emotions. She is extremely frustrated with the military and is heartbroken that she is now physically separated from her two children.

"I thought, if the military broke me, they would have to fix me," says Angenika. "I sacrificed for this country."

Despite her anger at the military, she expresses noting but gratitude for UNC and Ruth's Place, a shelter for women in Wilkes-Barre where Angenika says the staff treated her with compassion and respect. Her quest for her missing military pay remains an ongoing drama.

"They just keep telling me that they're working on it," she says.

Medical burdens

Steve, a Throop resident with three children ages six, four and two, has worked as a construction flagger and security officer. He says he was dismissed from his job due to excessive time off for a raft of seemingly unending family medical appointments. He has no medical insurance.

The family's financial problems turned critical when Steve's wife, who is also uninsured, became disabled after a nasty fall. This thrust Steve into the role of primary caregiver for his wife and three kids. He is the only family member who can drive.

When Steve's family began to experience a "rent issue" with tardy payments, he consulted with UNC and it provided assistance. His daughter also received school uniforms from UNC. A collaborative effort by Catholic Social Services and Friends of the Poor further aided the family.

"I previously never believed in any type of assistance," says Steve, who is now enrolled as an online communications major with the University of Maryland. Now, however, he says, "Food stamps and subsidized housing have helped us, and the kids are receiving state medical assistance."

Steve's story is evolving. His wife has filed for Social Security disability, and his son is enrolled in Head Start. The oldest daughter, who underwent successful brain surgery at Janet Weis Children's Hospital, was selected to be featured in the organization's annual telethon.

Unfortunately, Steve's youngest daughter is now experiencing seizures, and he suffers from nagging health problems. He has decided not to seek medical treatment for himself because he is uninsured.

Steve is lavish in his praise for UNC and other agencies striving to maintain a social safety net for the unfortunate. He also is impassioned about the fact that America lacks universal health insurance for taxpayers, calling the situation "ridiculous."

"Without the social services we've received, I'd still be living in my mother's basement," adds Steve. "At some point, I also want to go back to work."

Extensive chemotherapy

Bethany of Scranton earned a bachelor's degree in secondary English education from Shippensburg State University. She also was married in October of 2010, and resides with her husband in a third-floor apartment.

However, Bethany cannot teach. In May of 2010 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma after a lump was found near her throat. She underwent extensive treatment, including the insertion of a port-a-cath installed in her chest for direct administration of chemotherapy.

"The chemo has compromised my immune system, and I can't be around schools," says Bethany.

The cancer diagnosis has left Bethany in a precarious condition. When diagnosed she had health insurance with a $5,000 annual deductible--a scenario that produced extreme financial distress.

"I was in denial about all of this at first, and then panic set in," says Bethany. "I had no choice but to look for financial aid to help with my debt level."

Bethany consulted with UNC, who covered one month's rent for the couple. The organization also provided groceries that, according to Bethany, carried the couple through an extremely "rough patch."

Good news may be on the horizon for the couple. Bethany's scans have been clean since June. If they remain so, she will have the chemo port removed.

She has also been covered by her parent's medical insurance, and both Bethany and her husband are working, although the positions are not career-type jobs.

"During my college days, I never would have believed this type of thing could happen to me," says Bethany. "So much occurred at once, and produced exactly all the things I wanted to avoid."

Bethany's drama has also featured ample amounts of self-blame and frustration. She says she and her husband became adept at clinging to slim rays of hope and learned to tell themselves their situation could always be worse.

"For now, I'm hoping one of us is offered a full-time job and some sort of normalcy returns," says Bethany. "We'd also like to eventually have a honeymoon. However, our medical debt is so high, a honeymoon isn't going to happen any time soon."

Jill Moyle, community services assistant director with UNC of Northeastern Pennsylvania, emphasizes that hard-luck scenarios such as the ones involving Angenilta, Steve and Bethany are now occurring with stunning regularity. None of these cases are unique, because multitudes of people have been financially broken by problems and incurred huge debt.

"Our agency is seeing many people who never struggled financially in the past, but are now suffering from things out of their control," says Moyle. "In many cases, healthcare costs are at the root of the problems."