Hi Rurality ( K )

This is a great blog and I hope that you continue updating the story . What you are doing is wonderful . If I can find anything / anybody to help I will certainly pass them your way . I am below the poverty line myself . Priorities become pretty clear when you decide between surviving or buying a " non -essential " ( who would ever think that a razor is a non-essential , but it sure is when it comes to that or eating )

Thank you for sharing your story . I also love the pictures !

soulight

Thank you for the compliment K !  It is a very sad truth that many young ( and old) people in our country don't get the dental and medical help that we ALL deserve.

Thank you for passing the information along . My hopes are that even if just a few get the assistance that they need , it is worth the work.

soulight

WHO~KNEW

Your post has made me think. Lately , I have been feeling sorry for myself about my situation and whether or not I have made a difference in this world. It is time for me to start thinking of what I would say if I knew I was going to die soon . One NEVER knows . I could have a brick fall from a building that I am passing by and there I go .... The same thing could happen to anyone that I love. I don't even want to think about losing anyone , but it could happen .   Anyone could die in a freak accident or from many other situations and be gone in a flash. A very sad example of this is someone in my own circle of friends . He was standing on the top of a ladder(8-foot ladder ) painting in his house , and he lost his footing and fell off - onto his head ! He died 7 days later . He was a very young 50 year old man who was very well known in our city as the owner of a sound recording studio and a very involved volunteer with his gifted musical abilities. He will be so missed by many .

Thank you for yet another opportunity for me to think , and get off my butt ! Life is too short to stew in my own self-pity.

soulight

dimplesp

That is such great news ! I am so glad your daughter had a good time.

God Bless you

soulight

Thank you for fixing this so that hurting mouth can use it . I will go through and see what other links need to be corrected.

soulight

FOR ALL OF WASHINGTON STATE :

Where do I go for low cost dentistry?
Low cost dentistry is best obtained through a public clinic; names and locations can be found at the Washington Community Health Services or Health Resources and Services Administration.

Many members of the Washington State Dental Association also participate in WSDA Outreach, a low-cost dental program for low-income elderly and disabled. Go to WSDA Outreach. For info on low-cost dental programs for children, visit Healthy Kids Now!

I have medical coupons, how can I find a dentist?
The Washington State Department of Health Services maintains a hotline for referral to dentists. The number is 1-800-562-3022.

NORTH SEATTLE AREA :

PROVO UTAH :

. In partnership with the Share a Smile Foundation, free dental services had been offered once a month to about 8 to 10 needy clients in their dining room between meals. The two groups have now combined their resources to provide a new clinic in a building adjacent to the Coalition's main office which will now serve up to 75 persons each month.

  Unique to most other clinics is the requirement that needy clients perform community service rather than a cash co-pay for services rendered in their behalf

To learn more about services or to get involved, please contact Brent Crane or Nancy Mickiewicz at 373.1825 or email them at brentc@foodandcare.org or nancym@foodandcare.org.

Safety Net Dental Clinics in North Carolina

Across North Carolina, there now are more than 75 dental clinics dedicated to serving low-income patients who have limited access to dental care. This number is close to three times the number of facilities that existed in the early 1990s. Typically, these clinics are operated by local public health departments, community health centers, or other non-profit organizations. Most of these clinics accept patients enrolled in Medicaid or Health Choice. Many of these clinics also provide services on a sliding-fee scale to low-income patients who have no dental insurance. These Safety Net Dental Clinics are located in most counties in the state. If there is not a local Safety Net Dental Clinic in your area, contact your county health department for information on available resources. Also, the North Carolina Community Health Center Association (NCCHCA) maintains a list of community health centers operating in North Carolina. Contact the community health center nearest you to find out if they provide dental care.

The information provided above is from :

http://www.communityhealth.dhhs.state.nc.us/dental/safety_net_clinics.htm

 

Please check additional information in the comments section , found by Emil !

 

This page is full of information for Minnesota . Among that information , you will find sources for dental help .

http://www.health.state.mn.us/clearinghouse/resources.htm

 Dental help for Low income in North Dakota

 

This is a pdf. document with 7 pages of low income dental help for children and families :

 http://www.ndhealth.gov/oralhealth/Publications/Fact_Sheet_Dental%20Access.pdf

This feature is GREAT !  Now I know that I am not missing any messages and I can reply back to everyone . Plus , it puts the pages that I am interested/involved in right in front of me. This is so wonderful for the memory challenged ! ! !

Thank you !

soulight

 

Here is a wonderful story about a doctor who was tired of fighting the insurance companies . She took matters into her own hands and has made a difference to thousands of people.

This lady is a real hero.

It is so refreshing to see a doctor who puts patients first !  There are doctors out there who truly care about their patients. I am blessed to have one myself (sl).

 Does anyone else have a doctor that is like this ?

 

  So Many People ... Fall Through the Cracks

"PHOENIXVILLE, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- After 22 years in private practice and seeing people "kicked around by the system," Dr. Lorna Stuart found herself frustrated with the number of insurance companies and the rules and restrictions that came with them.

 

Because there's no insurance paperwork, Dr. Lorna Stuart says she has more time to spend talking with patients.

"The day-to-day time that I spent on paperwork was increasing, while my patients weren't getting the good care that I wanted to give them -- face-to-face time, one-on-one time," she recalls. "I vowed to do whatever little I could about this inequity of care."

For Stuart, that vow came in the form of opening her own clinic and treating the uninsured."

 

 

Taken from CNN HEROS , where you can continue reading the story :

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/23/heroes.stuart/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

The following is directly from an e-mail that I recieved today 04/23/08 from

Bread for the World.  http://www.bread.org/

______________________________________________________________

We need you to take action right away to ensure the gains we've fought so hard for over the past year and half are not lost.

Please call your representative and senators by noon Eastern time Friday, April 25, at 1-800-826-3688. Tell them we must pass a new farm bill now, and must not lose the nutrition increases and food aid changes already passed.  At a time of sharply rising food prices, these increases are especially critical.  Modest commodity reform could pay for these increases without resorting to tax increases or other cuts.

Read the talking points below.

[Note: This toll-free number will connect you to the Capitol switchboard, where you will ask to be connected to your representative's office in order to leave your message.]

Background:

The House passed its version of the farm bill in July; the Senate did the same in December. Key representatives and senators are meeting now to reconcile the two different versions and prepare a conference report that sets out the terms of the final bill. However, conferees have been unable to agree on total funding for the bill and how to pay for it. The president has threatened to veto the bill if it includes funding mechanisms he does not approve or fails to incorporate adequate commodity program reform. The current farm bill is scheduled to expire on April 25.

Both the House and Senate bills included significant increases to the farm bill's nutrition programs, especially food stamps. These increases represented a powerful recognition of current needs in the food stamp program and food bank programs. Since then, food price inflation has accelerated, squeezing many low-income families. However, if Congress does not pass a new farm bill, we will lose the nutrition increases currently on the table. This will mean fewer families will receive the assistance they need to be assured of an adequate, nutritious diet.

Rising food prices are also having a devastating impact on poor people outside our country. Our food aid assistance is a critically important tool to help the poorest people in the world cope with the rapidly rising food prices that we are currently seeing. However, some provisions of our food aid programs cause inefficiencies that cost lives. One of the most direct changes we could make to our food aid programs is to provide the flexibility to purchase some of our food aid locally or regionally. A pilot study of how to buy food locally or regionally was rightly included in the Senate version of the farm bill. Though the original language was weakened by an amendment during the Senate floor debate, it is a good first step and should be retained in the final bill.

At the same time, the Senate- and House-passed bills do very little to make commodity programs fairer or more equitable. Neither version includes meaningful payment limits and both actually increase the most trade-distorting programs. 

It's not too late to pass a final farm bill that addresses these issues. A few changes to the commodity programs would make the programs fairer for farm families of modest means while producing enough savings to pay for the nutrition increases we know are necessary. Funding is not an issue for the food aid pilot program, but conferees do need encouragement to include it in the final bill. The result would be farm bill that is better for poor people, in our own country and around the world.

See my recent interview on Bill Moyers Journal about rising food prices and the ways the farm bill could help mitigate their impact on the most vulnerable among us:

Message to Congress:

In this time of rising food prices, your statement of support for nutrition funding in the farm bill is especially critical!  Modest reforms to make commodity programs more equitable could provide funds without risking a presidential veto. Please show your support for finishing the farm bill with the strongest nutrition title to help make great strides against hunger and poverty.

Key points:

• Over 35 million Americans--including more that 12 million children--struggle to put food on the table.
  
  
• With skyrocketing food prices, food stamp households need assistance now more than ever.
  
  
• Failure to pass a new farm bill or extension of the current bill would mean that millions of low-income people will miss out on food stamp benefit increases on offer under the current conference proposals.
  
  
• Modest reform of commodity programs could produce savings to redirect to low-income families through the food stamp program.
  
  
• The Congress will miss a huge opportunity if they pass this Farm Bill without addressing the inefficiencies of our current food aid program. The local and regional purchase pilot program passed by the Senate should be retained in the final bill.

Calls need to be completed by:  12 noon (EST), April 25.

Thank you for your efforts on behalf of poor and hungry people,

David Beckmann
President

__________________________________________________________

I'm sorry that it didn't help . I didn't understand what you are looking for.

This organization might help though . It is called Modest Needs and they provide grants for paying one-time situations like the one you are in. I hope this one helps more !

soulight

http://www.modestneeds.org/explore/

Lisa ,

Ekikaseven said it so well that the only thing I add is I totally agree with her in prayer.

I also agree with Emil and Sunshyne.

Please know that you are loved. God loves you .

It is not what happens to us in life that matters. What matters is how we handle what happens to us.

You will be able to handle whatever comes your way . In knowing you and "talking" to you for over a year , I have come to know that you are a strong and courageous person . If only you could talk to yourself that same way you talk to and give advice to others , you would be home free ! Being a person who also lives to help others , I know that this is the hardest thing to do for those of us who are helper types, but the time has come to realize that you are so important too. You are a precious person and I am so glad to know you !

 Please , please , keep us posted and once again , know that you are cherished and loved !

You continue to be in my prayers,

In His Grace ,

Holly

Hi dimplesp

Try this page for places to go for a prom dress   http://clothing-career-clothes-prom-clothes-more-as-it-is-found.app-sl-1.aidpage.com/. You might try a church too . My daughter got her prom dress free through a church clothes closet.

soulight

Hi Jenna311

Please check out the page listed below. There is a program for free help with downpayments that you may qualify for.

soulight

http://free-help-to-fix-up-your-home.app-sl-1.aidpage.com/free-help-to-fix-up-your-home/

desperatemomof3,

It is my pleasure !

soulight

desperatemomof3,

 Here is a page for personal grants , if you would also like to continue to pursue that option :

http://grants-for-individuals.app-sl-1.aidpage.com/

soulight

Hi desperatemomof3

Just because your soon to be ex gives up parental rights , that does not mean that he can give up responsibility for paying spousal/and or child support. He still has to be responsible for his family. Don't let him get away with being a dead beat dad !

Also , if you go to your local community college , they will help you with a GED and with re-structuring your life . There are usually counselors that can help with both. Many community colleges also have active women's support groups that will also be great for you.

You could also try the local YWCA , and Goodwill ( also helps with GED and jobs) .

Just some ideas that may help you to start in a good direction.

soulight

 The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis. Without insurance, the diagnosis is twice as likely to come in the later stages of cancer.

STORIES OF PEOPLE DYING .You don't have to be poor to die from lack of insurance !

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/25/cancer.windsor/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

 

 

Cover the Uninsured Week is so crucial to those of us who don't have health insurance , or we do have it and it just doesn't cover what we really need for our health.I will use my own situation as an example .

I am under a county plan for my health needs. I have insulin dependent diabetes. At one time , they didn't cover insulin !

This county plan will  fully cover diagnosis , but not treatment !

 Example: I was diagnosed with sleep apnea , but they won't pay for a c-pap machine . Sleep apnea is where I stop breathing at night. The c-pap machine would help me breath .

 Another example : I have fibromyalgia and arthritis and I need physical therapy . Guess what ? My insurance doesn't cover physical therapy . 

This system enables disabled people to remain disabled .

 In fact , this system makes a persons' disability worse by not providing the proper care.

THIS SYSTEM  IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE ! ! !

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________________________

Where can we go for help , and what can we do to help ?

REMEMBER :

 If you are not part of the solution , you are part of the problem !

Here is one organization that is part of the solution

Selected quotes from the Cover the Disabled website :

"The Situation

Forty-seven million Americans are uninsured. Nearly 9 million of them are children. More than 8 out of 10 are in working families. They are our friends, neighbors and colleagues--forced to gamble every day that they won't get sick or injured.

Living without health insurance is a risk no one should have to take.

The Response

Cover the Uninsured, a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is a national effort to highlight the fact that too many Americans are living without health insurance and to demand solutions from our nation's leaders.

 Last year, Congress demonstrated unprecedented bipartisan support for an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover more of America's kids. Broad-based coalitions from across the country and our nation's governors have joined together in the fight.

The time for change is now.

Cover the Uninsured Week 2008 will take place April 27 – May 3 with thousands of activities across the country. We hope you will join the nation in helping make health coverage for the uninsured a top priority. "

_______________________________________

Read more about how you can get help through Cover the Uninsured week here :

http://covertheuninsured.org/stateguides/

Read more about how you can contribute in helping yourself and other people in an uninsured/underinsured situation here :

http://covertheuninsured.org/whatyoucando/

Once again , if you are reading this and you have the ability to get out their and campain for this cause , DO IT !

The site that I have directed you to has FREE materials to hand out so that people will know about this campain !

IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION , YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM .

soulight

 There are very limited resources for finding a grant for an individual . Most grants are filtered through a non-profit organization or similar organizations . Here are the few sources that I found . One charges $9.95 a month , however it is better than paying someone $500.00 for something that you can research yourself.

_____________________________________________________________________________ 

FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUALS

You can use this service from home for $9.95 a month by going here:

http://gtionline.fdncenter.org/

Or , you can access it for free from selected libraries , which are listed here ;

http://foundationcenter.org/collections/

GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUALS  FROM THE MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

This source has grants for individuals listed by topic . There are also scholarships for all types of education and life experiences. A great resource !

http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3subject.htm

Here is a rare find . An organization that gives grants of $2,500 - $5,000 for individuals ! These are grants for people with various needs ,and like most grants , you must fit the guidelines. It is definately worth a try !

The MEYER foundation grant for individuals :  

http://mayerfoundation.org/

 SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS --EDUCATIONAL --QUALITY OF LIFE--AND MORE

For those of us with major medical challenges , chronic long term diseases or illnesses , disabled , wheel chair bound , paralysed , facing major life challenges due to physical (dis)abilities

http://scholarships-for-people-with-disabilities.app-sl-1.aidpage.com/scholarships-for-people-with-disabilities/

FINANCIAL AID FOR SINGLE MOMS WHO WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE TECHNICAL SCHOOL

or other learning institutions.  Plus grants for other areas of a single moms life .With a special section with aid for your children

http://scholarships-for-single-moms-and-their-kids.app-sl-1.aidpage.com/scholarships-for-single-moms-and-their-kids/

IF YOU LIVE IN MICHIGAN : GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SINGLE MOMS WHO LIVE IN MICHIGAN

soulight777.googlepages.com/grantsandscholarshipsforsinglemoms

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Hi nahea

 You are a very well spoken person ,and much of what you say is true. Here is an organization that I have found useful in finding individual grants. I hope it helps find what you are looking for. I have no experience in grants myself , but this page narrows the search down , plus they give information about finding grants through your own personal search process.

soulight

http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3women.htm

Hi Blue Left Shoe ,

Could you tell us exactly how money is made on power mall ? Is it by buying or by getting people under you to buy ? I am just wondering ,as I have read many different things about power mall , some positive , mostly negative. If no one buys , no one gets any money , so you give free power malls and encourage people to buy from their own mall . Is this right ?

soulight

Eventually , all of the links on this page will work properly . I am changing them as I can . I have felt like crap lately  ; < (