Janet and Thomas S.’s troubles began when Thomas’s company transferred him to New York from New Hampshire. The company didn’t pay for that very expensive move and relocation. And then Tom had a terrible accident, breaking his neck and jaw in 2007. Since his job entailed extensive travel, the company let him go. He was 66 years old.

Thomas got unemployment benefits, but they couldn’t live on that. They were in Brooklyn, paying $1800 a month for their apartment, and couldn’t make ends meet.

Then, to compound their problems, Janet was diagnosed with leukemia and started chemotherapy. She did receive disability benefits, but Tom’s social security was delayed because they needed to provide complex income documentation. Emotionally, they were too distraught to focus at this point. They began borrowing from family and f r i e n d s , w h o quickly became resentful.

The final straw was an infestation of bedbugs in their apartment! Janet and Tom shamefully borrowed yet again from relatives to pay the exterminator, disposed of much of their furniture, and huddled in Prospect Park for 14 hours while the work was done.

Actually, the bedbug situation made the other tenants so angry they formed a group that went to Legal Aid, seeking and getting a rent rebate from the landlord. Because Janet and Tom were way behind in their rent, they were then referred to The Bridge Fund.

At this point, Janet and Tom had to pay all of the rent in arrears to avoid eviction. Fortunately, Tom began receiving his social security retirement benefits and had also found a full-time job. He contributed half the amount due on his back rent and The Bridge Fund and the Human Resources Administration, which had been contacted by Bridge Fund staff, covered the rest.

Janet said, “The help we received from The Bridge Fund saved our home. The Bridge Fund was there when we needed them.” They are now financially stable.