WOMAN IN NEED FOUND HELP AT THE OFFICE OF HUMAN CONCERN

  A taxpayer came into the Office of Human Concern (OHC) Asset Development Center 2510 N. 17th Street in Rogers last month needing assistance with her taxes and past tax problems.  A woman in her 40s, she had recently lost her parents and her husband, leaving her to raise a special needs child and her daughter alone.  She also had lost her job at the Wal-Mart home office in the most recent round of layoffs.

  The center is one of many programs operated by OHC, the community action agency for Benton, Carroll, and Madison counties that helps people of low and moderate income gain the basic necessities and become economically self-sufficient. The woman found helpful information and people who care and want to help those in need – she was assisted in filing two previous years returns and e-filing her 2009 returns. She asked about other services we provide outside the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and was struck by the wide range of work the agency does, much of it strengthened by American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds received by the agency. As we talked, she became more open and talked about herself and her desire to change her life.

  We enrolled her in the Asset Development program, which will help her better manage and save income, and told her how it works. She stayed for several hours and expressed how she wanted to come back and volunteer and be a part of the agency’s good works.    She was desperate for conversation and understanding, and needed to be embraced and accepted for who she is. As we stood outside the front door visiting, our weekly food distribution began, and we had lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and busy people preparing the foods for the hundreds of families we serve.  I asked her if she could use some food, and she got tears in her eyes and told me she had just paid all her bills with her unemployment and was not sure how she would have food until the next Tuesday when she got her next check. She was given produce and meats.
 
She left with a renewed faith in others, excitement about her future, and knowing she was no longer alone in working toward her financial recovery. She would be back the next day to volunteer, and, over the next few months, will learn the skills she needs to restructure her life and become self sufficient again.
 
                             
Kimberly Porter, Program Development Coordinator
Phone: 479-936-9795
Office of Human Concern, Rogers