Hope for the holidays (print)

Editor’s note: Hope for the Holidays is a series sponsored by the Rogue Valley Times that focuses on community members or families in need and highlights the work of social service agencies in Southern Oregon. Once a need is filled, donations may be distributed to others in need.

Designers: byline goes below editor’s note, and maybe separate editor’s note from byline by a space

The chance to make a trip to see her ailing father is all a 55-year-old Central Point woman is hoping for this holiday season.

The woman, a disabled client receiving round-the-clock in-home support from Living Opportunities, enjoys an extremely close relationship with her parents despite their living out of state.

For the past 35 years, the woman’s mother and father have traveled from their home in Washington state at least twice per year to visit.

With a recent terminal cancer diagnosis for the woman’s father, the visits have come to a sudden halt.

Caseworkers say the woman is heartbroken about her father’s illness and acutely aware that her opportunities for future visits are likely numbered.

“I need to see him. I want to hug him!” the woman told her direct support staff.

With limited disability income, the woman can’t afford the added expense to travel to see her dad.

Jim Norris, chief operating officer for Living Opportunities, said his agency chose the client as their nomination for this year’s Hope for the Holidays because they could empathize with the feeling of needing to be with loved ones for the holidays.

Living Opportunities supports people who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities and tries to help wherever it can, Norris said.

Living Opportunities staff are rallying to collect donated gift cards to cover the expenses of fuel, food and lodging to make a holiday trip for the woman a reality. The trip is estimated to cost about $1,500.

Norris said support personnel in the woman’s home have always admired how loving and involved the woman and her family are with one another.

“For me, when I learned about her story, it was just about how important it is to be with family during the holidays. It’s something we all kind of look forward to,” Norris said.

“Being away from family all year is tough, particularly when someone is not well and dealing with serious health issues … it makes the feeling all that more urgent that you want to get home and spend some quality time,” he added.

“It spoke to me,” Norris said, “especially, being away from my family all year long and knowing how much it means to get home and reconnect. When you look forward to those visits every year, it’s just hard. And with the health issues, the parents have not been able to visit this year. … We’re hoping we can make this happen for her.”

For anyone who would like to contribute to the woman’s trip, contact Norris by email at jim@livingopps.org or call 541-414-8761.