I Rarely Speak Of My Passions In Life Primarily Because I Have Traditionally Kept Alot Of My Private Life In A Low Key. I Despise The Spot Light Because There Are So Many People In This World Who Deserve Recognition For So Many Different Achievements.
By Admission, Poverty Stricken People Are My Weakness In Life.
Those Who Live In Poverty Are No Different Than Anyone Else. Let's Face It, There Has Always Been Poverty Since The Beginning Of Time And There Always Will Be.
We Can Choose To Ignore Them And Look The Other Way Or We Can Do Our Annual Obligation By Dropping A Few Coins In The Red Bucket At Christmas Time.
Personally I Don't Need The Calendar To Dictate To Me When I Should Spread Goodwill Toward Mankind.
For The Past Several Year I Have Been Acquainted With A Family Who Have Been Living In Poverty. However For The Past Year This Family Has Been Without Running Water. This All Came To Be After The City Of Danville "Traded" Homes With This Family. Without Going Into A Bunch Of Details The Long Story Short Is Briefly After The City Gave The Home To This Family The Water Bills Began Arriving. First It Was More Than A 100.00 After A Week In Their New Home. The Next Month It Was Over 400.00. Ofcourse This Bill Was An Outrage And They Went Directly To The Water Company. Water Officials Informed Them They Must Have A Leak Someplace. Well, DUH!
This Family Lived In A Flood Plain And The House They Moved Into Was Going To Be Demolished Unless It Was Brought Back Up To Code. Ofcourse This Family Appreciates What The City Of Danville Had Done For Them But This Issue With The Water Bills Were Becoming Unbearable. These Bills Continued To Rise Which Resulted To The Water Company Shutting The Service Off. With No Visible Signs Of A Leak In Either Inside The residence Or Out This Family Was Totally Dumbfounded.
This Family Has Relatives Who Live In One Of The Southern States So They Decided To Live With Them Through The Winter Months. After Returning Back To Danville They Were Aware Living Without Running Water Would Be A Challenge. One Of The First Things To Greet This Family Home Was Another Bill From The Water Company Yet For An Even Higher Amount Owed. This Amount Accumulated While Their Service Was Disconnected.
As An Advocate For Poverty Stricken Families I Advised This Family To Approach The Water Company To See If Their Was An Agreement That Could Be Worked Out. Unfortunately All They Are Interested In Is Payment In Full. They Pleaded To The Mayor Of Danville Who Felt The City Had Done All They Could For This Family.
The Conversations I Have Had With The Mayor Was Fruitless. He Told Me It Was His Opinion This Family Wanted Someone To Pay Their Bills! This Could Not Be Further From The Truth! I Became Outraged After That Remark And This Made Me Determined To Do Whatever I Could To Resolve This Matter. Shortly Before This Past Election In Early November I Thought Maybe By Making It A Political Issue I May Get Better Results. A Popular Representative From The Danville Area Was Seeking Re-Election And I Felt Maybe A Feather In His Cap Could Help His Campaign. He Took Offense To My Maneuvers And Considered It An Insult By The Suggestion. So Much For Politics!
Since The Election This Family Still Remains Without Water. I'm Sorry Folks But I Just Cannot Help But Think Of This Family Everytime I turn On My Water. Everytime I Wash My Clothes And Everytime I Bathe. I Cannot Get This Out Of My Mind.
I Have Only One Hope Left And That Is A Christmas Angel. I Have Been In Contact With One Of The Local Television Station Who Had Done A Story About Our Organization Months Earlier When We Were Trying To Purchase A Building For Our Organization From The City.
My Last Conversation I Had With The Mayor Of Danville I Was Told He Thought It Was Unfair To This Family By Having A News Story Of Their Personal Life Broadcasted For All To Know. HUH? What Do They Have To Lose? I Have Not Done Anything To Embarrass This Family. I Have Been In Constant Contact With Them And They Have Been Aware Of Every Step I Had Taken With This Matter.
My Last Hope Is A Christmas Angel. An Angel Who Will Be Touched By This Wonderful Family. This Family Is Unable To Help Themselves Out Of This Situation. Hopefully After A Plea To The Community About This Family A Christmas Miracle Will Happen. Just In Time For Christmas, With The Media's Help, Maybe This Family's Nightmare Will Soon Be Over.
I Will Keep You All Informed If Anything Happens.
If Nothing Else Happens, Let It Be A Reminder That Poverty Is Not A Dirty Word. It's A Reality Of Life And Unless We Decide To Make A Difference In Someone's Life Then You Are The One Who Is Missing Out On The Gratification You Receive From It.
