[Tennessee] Friends, faith help resident overcome setbacks

From The Mountain Press

Judy Watson never saw herself needing help with her income. At 60, she was married, working as an office manager at a local resort, and raising four grandchildren. She could foresee retiring, traveling with her husband, working at crafts and enjoying more leisure time.

But the road ahead is rarely as smooth as hoped for. In 2002 her husband, Bill, died of a heart attack. It was a devastating emotional blow, one she worked hard to overcome.

And it was also one that left her struggling to pay her bills.

"Before my husband passed away we weren't rich, but we weren't having to ask for money," she said.

Still, with the job she had, they were able to get by with little help. It did change her plans for moving. They had hoped to move into a new house and the home they'd been renting when Bill died.

She could no longer afford payments on the house they'd selected, and eventually she moved into a mobile home. Fortunately, two of her grandchildren were able to move out around that time, she said.

Watson eventually bought a new home with a loan from the Rural Home Administration; she said the payments are less than the rent she paid for the mobile home.

It was good timing.

Disaster struck again about six months ago, when she was laid off from her management position with no advance notice. It's a story she knows is all too familiar for people working in the service industry that dominates Sevier County's economy.

"It could be any of us tomorrow," she said.

She didn't have many major health concerns other than high blood pressure and stress-related problems, but she had been a patient at Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic for years because the business didn't provide insurance.

The clinic not only helped her with her medical needs then, it helped put her in touch with other resources in the community. Until then, she'd never realized how many services there were for the needy in Sevier County.

She still had two teenaged grandchildren to care for as well as herself. Carl Ritter, 15, and his 13-year-old brother, Casy, were still in school and still had needs and wants.

School officials helped her get the boys enrolled for services there. She signed up for unemployment and Families First, as well as other government services.

She can say now that the system isn't perfect, especially the food stamp program.

"You can buy lobster and pop, but not toilet paper and soap," she said.

Local charities have been a major help, she said.

Sevier County Food Ministries has helped keep her cupboards from being empty, and she's received assistance with some bills, she said.

Watson felt the need to do something with her spare time, even while she was looking for work. She started volunteering at the health clinic.

"You have to push past your grief and your fear, and the thing that has been helpful for me is to go out and help as many people as I can," she said.

She recently got a new job working part-time as a receptionist in an area office. Things are looking up. She still volunteers at the clinic.

She said her own ordeal has given her a new perspective on what it takes to survive and overcome poverty.

"It made me look at the world a lot differently," she said.

It took her faith and her friends to make it through, along with help from several organizations, she said.

Her Christian friends especially helped her after her husband's death. It was her lowest moment; she admits the loss left her unsure if she could go on or even if she wanted to.

"My faith is a lot stronger," she added. "I know there's nothing I could go through that I wouldn't be able to stand."

Her ordeal, along with her work and volunteer experience, has given her a broad perspective on the impact of poverty and the resources available for those in need. She's impressed with the services already in place in Sevier County. But she said the resources don't mean anything if a person doesn't use them.

Most local agencies, including Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic, have numbers or contact information for services and agencies that help with other needs. She knows how difficult it is to admit help is needed and how hard it can be to make the first call asking for it - and even those that follow.

But it has to be done, she said.

"You have to follow through," she said.