I need serious advice.
I am a student with one semester to go. My graduation date is Dec of 2012. I've been trying for my degree for several years and have exhausted all of the available student loan funds. I have filled out over 100 job applications over the last 8 months and would gladly quit school if I found a job that would support my children. I'm a single mother of four.
We did not have Christmas this year. There was no money. I was able to keep the utilities paid through a part time seasonal job in retail but that was over in January. I now have a $2,000 electric bill that will be disconnected on March 15th if I don't find some way to pay it in full as I had to default on a payment plan they set up with me in November. Energy assistance in my area pledged $260 but that didn't come close to covering what I need.
I have no idea what to do next. I'm a single mother of four, about to have no electricity, can't finish school, can't find a job.
Any advice from anyone out there???
Barack Obama, US President; Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey; US Senators from New Jersey: Frank R. Lautenberg, Robert Menendez; US Representatives from New Jersey: Albio Sires, Bill Pascrell Jr., Christopher H. Smith, Donald M. Payne, Frank Pallone Jr., Frank A. LoBiondo, John H. Adler, Leonard Lance, Robert E. Andrews, Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, Rush D. Holt, Scott Garrett, Steven R. Rothman; ------------------------------------
Hello I am taking a chance not truly knowing if this website is ficticious or for real...To be honest I am writing for a friend that is loosing his house..He has gone on every interview in the world after getting laid off from a great job and decided he can go through a quick course for nursing... Graduated from the worst private nursing school in the state of nj and had nightmares of how corrupt the school was...He has an autistic daughter and a brother that is just lying in a hospital bed with end stages of MS...He is a medical student who never got to achieve his goal because he is that crippled at 42 years of age...His wife had breast disease for all of the summer months which put them way behind...He even had stopped his diabetes medication to put food on the table.....He doesnt have any family to help but I have met him through nursing school and became a very good friend of the family....He has no experience in the field so we can not find work that easy thinking it was the right thing to go back to school and have a nice career in the health field....Now he is at rock bottom. Heat has been shut off several times---foreclosure letter came-----water letter came saying his house will go for a state sale...And his wife works but it does not make ends meet and they deserve food and some assistance at least for there 8 year old child....I know everybody seems to struggle but its those that I see get assistance and are not in need of it... I don't know how to direct a friend to get help... Can someone tell me where he can get some donations please!!!!
Landed a JOB last Wed. !! Whoopy. I prayed alot and my prayers were answered. Am making downpayment on a used car next week. This will be a Merry Christmas for me. Thanks for all your prayers. I am sending mine every day to those still out of work.
Andy
Barack Obama, US President; Dave Heineman, Governor of Nebraska; US Senators from Nebraska: Ben Nelson, Mike Johanns; US Representatives from Nebraska: Adrian Smith, Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry; ------------------------------------
Please read my article posted on my website at bottom of this page.
If greedy business continues with so much computerized automation, there will be hardly no one remaining to buy the products they are manufacturing. This practice is spreading to third world countries as well. I can not forsee any solution other than forcing big business to lower their prices and hiring more workers at a reduced wage. If action is not immediate, world ecomony will crash. Please save the country and the world.
I got the same no home no job no money and have to leave and go out on the street its almost winter and it will be cold i know i been there befor not fun you know
as of last week my mom and dad and me got in a fight b/c they think we might as well give up our kids b/c we are struggling, so we are now staying at our mother in laws with my husband which we are not suppose to technically do b/c she is on hud and lives ina 2 bdrm. we have signed up on hud and transitional housing we are looking for jobs and so far just isnt getting us anywhere, our income is going to be running out b/c the first 3's dad doesnt want to work to take care of him and his unemployment is running out. we have ads up on craigslist. we are willing to live in a pull behind camper just so the kids have a place. my mother in laws done been told if someone turns it in again that we are staying with her then she will be off hud to and her income is as limited as ours. my husband is seeling his vehicle just to make some money, so we just have mine that has high mileage. my husband just go notified that where we were living with his cousin that he had a review for the fire dept. but by the time we just got told today the reviews our over and he has to wait til next march to reapply. so we are ust hoping that something will change, we take care of our kids and our honest people so just dont know why we are having so much luck.
I guess im not alone in my situation,sadly. I also have a homless son.
He started having mental breakdowns in his ealy teens I tried so hard to get him help but with no insurance and his refusal it was dificult. His father in prison most of his life was no help. I dont understand he had a pretty good upbringing, I worked pretty good jobs & was able to provide well. I was extremely close to him went to EVERY school function, he was very well loved
. He started doing drugs in highschoo-weed & only God knows what else & things got worse he attempted suicide as number of times. Once even begging md to kill him cuse he could not. He started running away n I would be out half the night searching the streets for him.
It had always been just him, his brother & me. I was lucky to find a wonderful man his senior year and we all moved to his house but my son just hated it and hated him, even refusing to even speak to him. Eventually we got pregnant and still I would go out in the middle of the night everytime he went missing. My husband would get very upset & I thought it best that I better stop that. Right after his graduation he left n did not return, but I know had a newborn to care for. He was with friends then homeless dropped out ok f college after 1 semester no job, spen $7,000 in three months with nothing to show for it, no new clothes or shoes. Eventually he ended up with my mother. But now after a year of constantly battling with him she asked him to leave hes been on the street for 5days. Im worried sick about him but my husband doesnt want him here and we have a two yr old and a ten mth old to think about. Im thinking of offering to pay for a motel or rent a room for him but it would be behind my husbands back. I just dont know what to do. I love him so much
I can relate to your son's dilemma. I was laid off of my job of 15 years in 2009. In june of 2010 I had a stroke and was the diagnosed with Black Lung Pnuemonia. I recieved benefits until March of this year and have been cut from every means of support I was recieving. Now I am homeless, ill, no job, and scared to death of life or even death for that matter. If he finds a way to get out of the mess he is in, please let me know. I too could use the help or support.
This is very confusing on Aidpage. How does anyone help anyone here? I lost my job, no health insurance, disabilities, car doesn't work, no money coming in at all to pay any bills, not even rent. I have called and contacted everyone I can think of. No one has monies to help me. My last employer, I think is fighting the unemployment because of retaliation. I was being bullied and harassed at work so after not being helped my managers, I called Human Resources and reported it. My managers threatened me and called me names to keep me quiet, then used my missed days as a reason to fire me. I became ill after each episode of intimidation and harassment. I had migraines, my IBS got worse, Fibromyalgia is much worse, my blood pressure went up, my thyroid problem is worse etc. So now, I have nothing. I really need some help here. 211 is no help. I want to contact organizations for homeless women over 50 because that is most likely what I will become soon.
in response to homelessnjobless...I'm sorry to hear about what your going through. I to have actually been through HELL, and back. I even faced suicide, and God didn't let me die. Everything that I have been through since, and now. God has been there. God has been there for me, and God WILL be there for you. If you open your heart to God, and sincerely seek HIM.
I would sincerely seek God, and In your own word's. "Say" If you help me Lord from here on out with my need's, and provide. I will seek you everyday, I will attend church, I will tithe, I will live for you first, and people 2nd.
If you sincerely meant that. God will help you.
God still continue's to amaze me. God still continues to be faithful in my life.
God love's you, and as much as HE love's me.
Seek God with all your heart. Do then what you can do, and by faith God will do what you can't do.
Jesus love's you, and so do I.
Shalom, and blessing's.
Mike
in response to Dave H...well I think you are wrong. I am going to be homeless and have been looking for a job for over a year. I just had a baby and i have nowhere to go and cant find employment. all section 8 housing is closed because the economy is shit. I dont have any drug problems and have reliable transportation although probably not for much longer cause i cant afford the payments anymore.
One stigma that blocks what might otherwise be a compassionate response toward the jobless and homeless is the notion that "tough love" will solve everything. Ironically, the notion started out in a Christian book on the subject of child rearing by James Dobson, but the concept has arguably evolved into a rational for cultural Darwinism --- survival of the fittest. More ironic still is that the benevolence efforts of bygone eras would most likely be dismissed as the work of socialists today. The idea that we are our brother's keeper --- to love our neighbor as ourselves --- has been transformed by pop psychology to an endorsement of personal interest above that of a broader community or social responsibility. The self-help gurus over the past 30 years have been repeatedly told us what we want to hear: that we give too much, love too much and can't say "No". To feel angst or guilt is merely "codependent". We must learn how to unravel our own consciences, embrace individualism and declare freedom from that pull of obligation to someone other than ourselves. This is value system is largely new to our culture but it has no doubt added to the suffering of millions of Americans throughout this protracted recession. By contrast, in the poorest of poor countries, you see that much like herd animals people have an innate sense that their odds of survival are better when they stick together --- when they cooperate. Here, we've all but bred that instinct out of our modern "First World" existence.
It's one thing to enable someone with an untreated drug or alcohol addiction --- there is a real case to be made for letting addicts hit rock bottom. But when it comes to mental illness a different set of factors may be at play... I grew up in a place where the only "hobos" were characters in library books. Then President Regan liberated the mentally ill from life in an institution for the sake of their civil rights --- in the midst of another nasty recession, if recollection serves. That's the point in my life where the sight of panhandlers on the streets became routine. Of course, I don't think it is possible to argue in this small post about the merits of Reagan's actions. However, I am sure that giving the institutionalized over to "freedom" on the streets was thought to save the taxpayer money. Like all things in life, however, the "free lunch" was not to be. The next institution to take up the slack became the prison system, many of which are running over costs across the nation --- with taxpayers once again on the hook. Many who are imprisoned really ought to be in treatment programs and are not. Again the taxpayer is on the hook when the mentally disabled end up right back behind bars.
Having said that, I want to draw a clear line between then vs. now and those issues vs. our current economic crisis: Millions of Americans who never thought they would find themselves living out of their cars or in a cheap motel are finding themselves exactly in that place. These are folks who played by the rules, graduated from school, held down a job, paid their dues and maybe even earned a college or vocational degree --- and yet they are unable to fend for themselves. This Great Recession is headed for a double dip, yet what is downright flabbergasting is that most news sites that address unemployment, homelessness and "food insecurity" continue to draw comments from people who are absolutely convinced that the long-term unemployed must be lacking a work ethic, sitting on the couch all day collecting unemployment, under-qualified, etc. In fact, I hear the EEOC is holding hearings with the intent of possibly revising the Civil Rights Act because it is apparently EMPLOYER POLICY to weed out all jobless applicants! Either way, this is a particularly cruel and unusual assumption dumped on the backs of those who have already had it hard enough. More than cruel, it is clueless! There are no bragging rights to unemployment or to losing one's home or to having to hit one's friends and family up for help. Anyone who believes that economic hardship is a lifestyle choice is out to lunch.
I can understand how parents here are struggling against the dysfunction that housing someone with mental or substance abuse problems may pose. In that instance, the key to helping vs. enabling is to make assistance conditional upon some sort of tangible progress --- enrolling in classes, working toward a GED, to overcome learning disabilities with a tutor, fill out disability paperwork to receive aid, take one's ADHD meds, go to AAA meetings and address whatever the underlying problem is. But what about the families/friends of those who are disadvantaged and NOT on drugs, who do NOT have criminal histories, who DO want to work? I can only urge readers that if your fear for that disadvantaged individual is more likely to translate into criticism rather than actual help, acknowledge the counterproductive nature of such an attitude. Go easy on those who are about to lose everything. The last thing anyone needs in these hard-luck times is the feeling that they are also losing the better side of YOU to the anger, guilt, helplessness or fear of these dire circumstances. The world isn't the same as it was 5 years ago. It is so much easier to assign blame rather than to extend a helping hand, but it's not necessarily the right thing to do.
Of all things nasty about this difficult economy, perhaps the biggest tragedy is the relationships that fray because of it. That need not happen! It is up to families and extended families to BEHAVE LIKE FAMILIES (and even friends to recognize when that isn't happening and to take some action, no matter how small). Too many people who were formerly productive members of society are finding, just when they need it most, that the world is filled with fair-weather friends and even worse, fair-weather family members who don't want to make sacrifices to help out their own. Excuses are easy to come by when the underlying sentiment is rooted in anxiety or selfishness: Grievances will be emphasized to justify the distance and the emotional disconnect. It's a sad fact of life. We all must struggle to be the "bigger person" --- to forgive one another of our shortcomings in these difficult times.
We have a strong individualist streak in American culture, a sense of self sufficiency that can make us strong yet also threatens to make us indifferent. None of us want to give up our single-family lifestyle or take in boarders (family or otherwise). It' not what we're accustomed to. Just the same, try to fight the temptation to skip out on someone you may know who needs assistance. The way this economy is going, next time you might find yourself on the other side of the employment fence --- in which case it will only help to know a few people who are inclined to return the favor.
Above all, remember: Bad things don't necessarily happen to bad people. Ours is an unfair world where you can't always reap the benefits of your best efforts. That doesn't mean you should give up on yourself --- or believe others who are inclined to give up on YOU. Hard times can happen to anyone, even the best of us. The proverbial Golden Rule isn't just some archaic ideal --- it's exactly what we will need if we are to band together and overcome these tough times with both our consciences and the roofs over our heads intact. Never give up on yourself and never give up on each other!
i am 28 and homeless right now also and i am in about the same situation as your son i have been staying with family and friends, sleeping in parks i have broken into buildings and such, slept in vehicles i have owned, all in the past 10 yrs. i was diagnosed with impulse control disorder, depression, ptsd, and adhd since i was 11 and i am fighting for disability at this time but i just cant seem to straighten things out i feel as though i am chasing my tail again and again. if i put my mind to it i can get a legit job but it normally last a cpl months then i get fired for one ting or another or i get laid off in just the right way so i cant get unemployment. i was turned down for health insurance here in maine for 5 yrs then i finally got it about a moth before i got a 3rd degree burn on my hand. i have also been turned down for general assistance by multiple cities even though they say its a last resort option! i am at my last resort!!! the only advice i can give your son is the same advice i keep in mind everyday of my life, which is try to keep optomistic about things and keep fighting for help and talk to lawyers if needed.... for both of our sakes i hope this advice helps soon... all the best of luck to your boy i hope that he finds his place in life soon
I know what you are going through! It is so tough raising kids today and trying to get by.
I would suggest you try social services first - apply for wahtever services you might be eligible for - including WIC, LIHEAP, food stamps, medicaid, etc....
Also check with unemployment - they may be able to find some work for your husband - or additional training while he is unemployed. If they do deny him , make sure he files an appeal. They usually deny the first time around - so be prepared.
For christmas - check with 211.org, salvation army and toys for tots - I have all their links on my homepage.
If your stepson is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he might be eligible for SSI. It takes a while, but it can help ensure he gets the medication and help he needs in the long run.
Finally, talk to your husband, let him know how you are feeling. Explain to him that you are not angry with him , just the situation and that you feel helpless. Let him know that you understand he is doing his best to provide for his family and that you love him no matter what. Chances are, he is feeling inadequate right now and he needs to hear from you that you do not blame him for what is happening. He needs a little reassurance to keep him going. I think it might just make everyone feel a little better.
Well, I've never posted before so excuse me if I do this wrong? I am 24, my fiance of 4+ years just lost his job last week. He's in landscape so besides snow (if we have any...), no one is hiring right now. He's amazing... talented and incredibly smart at what he does! Which is a lot - management, design, labor, etc.
Anyways, we've borrowed 700 to add to our "savings" to pay rent and relicense my car --- to find out I need 600+ in repairs to have a legal car!
I am 6 1/2 months pregnant and I have a 3 year old and a 9 1/2 year old full time step son. The kids don't even have enough winter clothes! We were struggling to make ends meet BEFORE he lost his job.
We have my youngest son's 3rd birthday coming up in 2 weeks, my fiance's birthday a few days later, and xmas right after that. And NOTHING to show for it.. we've never NOT had a christmas so it's terrifying.
Unemployment I hope does not get denied....!!
There's no way I can get a job that would pay rent or bills, and there's no way we could afford latchkey and daycare for both my fiance and I to work.. and he can't find anything to pay bills as well. I mean rent, electric, utilities, food, gas - which one do you decide to lose???????????????????????
On top of all this, my step son is bipolar and he's been increasingly violent. We just got him medication except his insurances disappears in 3 weeks..... just in time for his next dr appt! How can we afford to pay insurance, drs visits, meds, etc?!?! We can't afford for him not to be on medicine either... seriously.
We didn't have much but at least before we weren't completely stressed out, in tears, at each other's throats constantly.
I promise this, when we finally get back on our feet, we will always donate to charity, have savings, and adopt a family in need at Christmas.
Thank you for listening.
*Oh and I babysit for an infant and toddler Mon-Wed for $20 a day. Yeah, I go to get a job and make some money (I'm thinking 100 a week at least??) and instead I go and help out a family as needy as we are and do it cheap! I love the little girls though and have no regrets.
in response to mmh777...hI I was reading your letter and it helps to know im not alone either. My son is 22 and does use drugs and has been in prison. No job history and homeless. I live with my male friend for the last 10 years and my son has burnt that bridge with liveing at home.So he is out their with a female tagging alone with him. I let his use my car to sleep in and run the streets in because it gives him away to be able to go from house to house. But my boy friend does not approve and we fight about it all the time. Mom from cal
in response to worried mom in Kansas...I am almost in the exact situation as you with the exception of a younger child at home...im in california - but if you find any resources, please share. bless you & yours
in response to mmh777...While searching for help for my son, I came across this post. I am in a very similar situation. When my son was 18, he moved out a week after graduating high school. He did not want to follow house rules (e.g. party all night, sleep all day). I knew he would struggle, but he wouldn't listen. The arguements escalated. After 8 months, he was really down on his luck, dirty, thin. We allowed him to move back home and help him get back on his feet. Again, after only one month, he resorted back to the same old crap. Twisting it, as if it was all my fault that he is in the mess he is in. He is now 19, calling me saying he fu@#$% up his life, etc. I don't want him back home because of his mouth and attitude. He can't seem to hold a job, etc. He isn't on cocaine, but he dabbles in pot and smokes. He is really impulsive, ADHD diagnosed. I feel so guilty not asking him to come back home. I don't want him on the street. I just feel sick, but I have a younger child at home and I don't want him negatively influenced. How do I help without enabling him in continuing the bad behavior and poor work ethic? I have bought him groceries, but now he says he will be homeless in a few days because the guy he is staying with is getting evicted and moving away. This kid can't even get into the military. He can't pass the entrance exam. Any suggestions?
I believe 90 per cent of the Homeless have a disorder of some sort that keeps them from finding work. I believe every person should have a place of their own to call home, free from City and State Ordnance.
Other disorder; going through garbage for income. Not wanting, being told what to do. Committed a crime, Not having a place to live without the Police making you move somewhere else, Family problems, child support, divorce, other Homeless stealing your belongings. Feeling sorry for yourself, Getting beat-up. Loosing your vehicle because no insurance. There are many reasons for a mental disorder as there are people. Do you think living in the streets is normal behavior? When you’re out in the streets there are very few people you can trust.
We are the first to design a way of help www.reach4salem.org
in response to Thats ME!...government assistance is a joke.I tried to use it last year, they will give food, but the most I could get for rent was $50, now if I could find an apartment for that I'd be st
I think sending money on the internet is a fraud....as well you might be "getting" by or not....how many people send money and you do nothing.....I hope to GOD they don't send it......please people....send the money to a CHURCH or something in the neighborhood....Not in the hands of people who fraud you.
in response to momof2babies...absoutly. Lets make this happen ppl. Its for all of us! (well except me, i dont think it would be fair for me to pick myself)
ps the only reason i put i can help instead of we can or i need your help is because i think ppl are more willing to click when i say i can help. (i can help i just need your help to make it worth it)
I have a great idea for helping people. BUt i cant do it by myself. I need Everyones help here.
Seriously, There are a lot of people who need help here. I would like to personal choice one random person a month and donate what i can.
I am asking for your help rather your rich or poor. I am only asking that when i announce who the winner is for that month, Everybody donates $1. Its not much at all even I can afford to spare $1 a month (raising 2 kids n caretaker of my brother. on cash aid and a monthly income of $200 a month. Im in charge of all the bills, food, and everything else) But this is not where i list my needs. This is what i want to do to help other People. PLEASE! If we all give just $1 it will add up. Let me give an example if 20 people give $1 that months "winner" will have $20, it may not seem like much but it helps. Thats a pack of diapers for a single mom, some gas for a disabled person to get to an appt, A pack of socks and underwear for a child, or enough to buy at least one meal for a family of 4. The list goes on. Imagine how we can help if 100 people give $1. Everyone has needs rather they are working or not. Disabled or Fine. EVERYBODY can use a little help. I wont start till i know I have at least 10 people willing to participate. Also because i feel everyone is able to give $1, I will be more likely to select those who are helping others too. Basically If you donate you will be selected to be donated too. Im starting with Just 1 person a month. Maybe more if this grows into something big. AND of course if you have more to offer the "winner" of the month you are encouraged to do so. (not just money, clothing, extra food, whatever you want)
If your willing to particiapate and like the idea just leave a comment
I am asking that "winners" set up a paypal account to make recieving a donation easier.
Hi , your story sounds so familiar to me. I know what its lik eto lose everything you love, have nothing, and when you look around, nobody to help. It feels so alone, like noone cares, but you still have your baby, and God. Be thankfull of that. I was reading about toys for tots last night and saw that they have an ongoing support program for the needs of children with parents in prison. Look them up on the web, maybe they can give you the information you need to get the help you need. Good luck dear, and remember you are not alone.
I am a 24 year old hopefull entreprenur. I want to start my own business and it was going good for awhile until i lost my day job due to some racist comments made by my then manager and things got tuff after that. I didnt have anywhere to live I was sleeping on the train until it closed and moving around from friends and family houses until I wore out my welcome until i found two roomates who dont speak to me now because im putting them in a bad bind. I have 89. cents to my name. my account is in the negative of a hundred dollars, im two month behind on my rent. and my cell phone got turned off . I have been living like this for 6 months trying to find a job scraping up money to go on interviews with no one calling me back and I dnt want to turn to dancing or anything like that csuse Im hoping things will get better. I just need help getting on my feet.
That was a good one Emil . Sad but true. There already is a panic we see it on aidpage and experience first hand. We know the ratings are screwed for the unemployment numbers they tell us. We get the news in CA that looks like unemployment getting worse then it is improving to worse again...
my husband is gone, the trial is over. the worst week of our lives. he will be gone for 8 years. our baby turns 1 year old this saturday and im trying to scrape together just to buy a cake for him to make a mess of, like every 1 year old baby should have on their birthday. Im so behind on rent ans my landlord has really been nice about it but Im going to get an eviction notice in 2 weeks if I dont figure something out. I have WIC and medicaid and some food stamps,thats all the help Ive gotten so far..which really is a huge help but that doesnt give you a place to live or me food to eat or gas for the car to look for a job or diapers for the baby. And that isnt even including all the other bills just to have heat and lights and stuff. Im really not sure what is going to happen to us, I have no family to count on and Im not from here so no friends. I have no idea if people really do get help from this website but if they do, the ones that reallllly need it, I hope they find their way to my post...I dont care if I only eat enough to just stay alive, I need my baby to have a place to live and clean clothes and at least not FEEL like were in the situation we are in. I want him to keep his innocence as long as possible, not learn about the real world so young. :( breaks my heart. Miss my husband so much too.
First Name: Doug Last Name: Gawne Email Address: dgawne@nwvbc.org Phone Number: 7345582634
Being financially free helps us help others and we like to be ministers to our fellowman as the Lord provides.
My name is Doug Gawne, I am a 40 y.o. Christian school teacher. I love teaching at Christian schools becuase I believe in Christian Education. I recently took a position at a school here in Arizona for the Fall, and as a result, my wife had to quit her nursing job to move with me. I only make 25K a year and she made 40+k per year. She has been looking for work since April 09 and cannot find it here in Phoenix. As a result, we're in serious financial straits. We live with my brother in law, but the 6 of us and he and his wife fill up his little 3 bedroom house quicly. The church has helped as much as they can and we are just trying to find someone that will gift us enough just so that we can manage on my tiny income. We still own our house in MI and have renters in it which pay $1000.00 per month (our mortgage payment is $820) we pay taxes ourselves. This 1000.00 doesn't cover the expenses, but we're trying to give the renters some economic relief too. We own 130,000 on the MI house. Combined debt aside from house and cars is about $25,000.00. This would be manageable and I wouldn't have to seek help if we had two incomes. Can you help? We don't qualify for a consolidation loan b/c I don't make enough. We don't feel bankrupcy is ethical. So we just need a chance to receive a gift of about $25,000 to get back on track and then be able to look for work without creditors ruining our excellent credit and the anxiety of wondering how we will provide for our 4 children. Thank you for your time. Have a blessed day.
Respectfully, Doug Gawne 18228 N. 29th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85053
says it will provide 70 of its most widely prescribed prescription drugs -- including Lipitor and Viagra -- for free to people who have lost their jobs and health insurance.
The world's biggest drugmaker said Thursday it will give away the medicines for up to a year to Americans who lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been on the Pfizer drug for three months or more.
The announcement comes amid massive job losses caused by the recession and a campaign in Washington to rein in health care costs and extend coverage. The move could earn Pfizer some goodwill in that debate after long being a target of critics of drug industry prices and sales practices.
The program also likely will help keep those patients loyal to Pfizer brands.
"Everybody knows now a neighbor, a relative who has lost their job and is losing their insurance. People are definitely hurting out there," Dr. Jorge Puente, Pfizer's head of pharmaceuticals outside the U.S. and Europe and a champion of the project, told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Wednesday. "Our aim is to help people bridge this point."
The idea for the program came just five weeks ago, at a leadership training meeting, as the workers discussed how many patients are struggling, Puente said.
He said he urged top management to approve the program, presenting a recent Associated Press article about how newly uninsured diabetics are suffering serious complications because they can no longer afford the medicines and testing supplies. Approval came quickly.
"It was my idea," he said. "I floated it, and the reception it got was so dramatic that it very quickly became our idea."
Colleagues suggested employees could donate to a fund to help support the effort, Puente said. He said some employees had tears in their eyes when discussing how they could help people who had lost jobs.
Officials for New York-based Pfizer said they don't know how much the program will cost and haven't put a cap on spending for it.
Applicants will have to sign a statement that they are suffering financial hardship and provide a "pink slip" or similar employer notice. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 31, with medication provided for up to 12 months after approval -- or until the person becomes insured again.
Starting Thursday, patients can call a toll-free number, 866-706-2400, to sign up, and those whose drugs are not included in the program will be referred to other company aid programs. Starting July 1, patients can also apply through the Web site, PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com, which has information about the other Pfizer aid programs.
Pfizer and the rest of the drug industry are trying to have a voice in the debate over how to overhaul the U.S. health care system, partly by joining in a pledge this week to help hold down inflation of health costs.
"There's a long-term benefit there, beyond the goodwill and the publicity," said David Heupel, health care portfolio manager at Thrivent Large Cap Growth Fund. "Pfizer is trying to maintain their (market) share, if not grow their share" by keeping people from switching to generic versions of its drugs to save money.
"If you're already taking medication that's working, typically doctors don't push to change it," Heupel said.
Pfizer's program comes at a time when many drugmakers, including Pfizer, have been raising prices on their drugs, partly to offset declines in revenue as the global recession reduces the number of prescriptions people can afford to fill.
The 70-plus drugs covered in the program include several diabetes drugs and some of Pfizer's top money makers, from cholesterol fighter Lipitor and painkiller Celebrex to fibromyalgia treatment Lyrica and Viagra for impotence. Drugs from several other popular classes such as antibiotics, antidepressants, antifungal treatments, heart mediations, contraceptives and smoking cessation products also are included. Cheaper generic versions are available for quite a few of the drugs.
Pfizer said that from 2004 through 2008, its patient assistance programs helped 5.1 million people get 51 million Pfizer prescriptions for free or at reduced cost, with a total value of $4.8 billion
Hi. I just joined this site because I have been searching everywhere for a little bit of help. I am a single mom struggling and I have tried doing a bit here and there online. I only needed to come up with $10 to keep this site Global Domains International and since I lost It I lost most use of the 10 other sites I have because I needed GDI. So I was in here and I came across your power mall. I signed up because of course anything that is free and will help me come up with the $10 would be great. The most reason of all that I liked the site is that when I can support myself and kids and own a business someday I want to help other people. And the best thing is that the site donates to help. I may not have much but what I do have I like sharing. I just want to say thanks. Michelle
i lost my job this week i am a truck driver. i have 2 kids and a lot of bills.ic tryed to get a new job but i cant coz my c.v.o.r isnt clean my wife is selfish woman she has a part time job but she refuse to pay bills. i ask god oto help me but i think he's busu with som e other big issue he doesnt have time for poor ppl. i am thinking about killing myself. coz i am tierd of this life i have nothing even i am 39 years old
I am willing to clean and cook for a older person needs help I like to be around olderpeople I need money to pay for meds and food to live... see full post
You know I'm an awesome seamstress it's one thing I am great at...I only need to figure out financing and a committed group to make it work. The great thing is it could be done
From different states ... see full post
Here since: Feb 20, 2012
Female, 32
Henrico, VA, US
Hello
This is my first time on this site. I have been searching online for help just as many of you on here do. I am a wife and mother of 3 children. My husband, oldest child, and I are disabled. We... see full post
