Hope for holidays
A helping hand during a hard time
Dear John: My daughter has had four operations for tumors that grow on her body. Over the years she became addicted to painkillers.
Spending many thousands trying to get her help. Praying with her, going to church together. She goes to these facilities and then relapses.
We pay $2,100 a month rent for a condo in North Babylon, Long Island.
My husband fell on his hip. After the operation he came out with Parkinson’s, and he’s now in a wheelchair. When he came home from the hospital, we had aftercare that involved physical therapists coming to the house. I have to wheel him around the house.
I thank God I still have him. I take care of him. My husband worked hard all his life delivering newspapers.
I had the police come to the house because he fell several times. They have been nice to my husband and me.
My wonderful husband and I have been married 58 years. We are in our 80s. My daughter got into trouble shoplifting because I could not keep giving her money for pills.
One director at the hospital told us to throw her out. I’m an Italian Catholic, and I can’t. I’m afraid she’ll get raped or killed.
She is on Social Security Disability and Medicaid. She’s 44 years old and has no job.
I thought that the community cares about people, but when they found out about my daughter they are chasing the whole family out.
I rent from a lawyer who owns this condo, which is under the name Fairfield in Long Island.
They are giving us 30 days [to move]. I have lived here over three years. I hope I can go to court to ask the judge for more time. I don’t want to move. I like where I’m living. It has a lot of conveniences.
We are on a fixed income. Besides paying rent I pay someone $40 once a week to give my husband a shower. And when he has to go to the doctor it costs $100 every time. D.D.
Dear D.D. You certainly seem to have your hands full. Let’s see if I can help.
I called Fairfield Properties, which develops and manages a bunch of communities on Long Island, and its lawyer, Ed Taylor, got back to me. Taylor explained to me that Fairfield “can’t really throw them out.” But it can complain to the owner of the unit — the lawyer you mentioned — and pressure him to evict you.
That seems to be what’s going on.
After I called Taylor you had another court date, and you told me that your eviction has been pushed back until February. Maybe we can even get that delayed further. I can’t imagine that Fairfield would want the reputation for being heartless. That can’t be good for business.
What makes me hopeful is that I think there’s somewhat of a misunderstanding here. Nobody disputes that your daughter is a problem. But I think the condo residents believe that the police coming to your house — to help pick up your husband when he falls — were really domestic disputes involving your daughter.
You told me that only one police call was because of her.
The condo people also seem to think that your adult son sometimes lives with you. As another one of your daughters explained to me, that son only comes on weekends to buy your groceries.
And since he wears a black leather jacket, the condo residents might feel threatened, according to your other daughter. I have a leather jacket. Maybe I should hang around the neighborhood for a while to shake things up.
Anyway, hopefully your neighbors will start showing some good, old-fashioned compassion. I’m sure there are people in the condo community who are a bigger problem than your sick husband.
I’m still working on this. I tried calling Catholic Charities on Long Island, but nobody answers. Readers, any ideas?