Fed-up cop says "enough" - tired of seeing starving, poor, struggling elderly

[Liberal_in_LA]

Fed-up officer says 'enough,' starts senior outreach

Lake Mary, Florida (CNN) -- Shortly after joining the Lake Mary Police Department in 2007, Zach Hudson was dispatched to the home of two elderly women.

What he saw left him appalled.

The two women -- a mother in her 90s and a daughter in her 70s -- had no food and no electricity. Each month, they alternated what they spent their small amount of money on: One month it would be medicine, the next it would be food and bills.

"They were struggling horrifically," Hudson recalled. "They had to cut their medications. They were doing the things that seniors often do to try to make up the financial difference."

In his 10 years as a Florida police officer, Hudson had witnessed countless senior citizens in tragic circumstances. But this was the last straw for him.

-----------------

"If you're 80 years old and you have to get up on a footstool to change your light bulb and you fall, it could kill you," said Hudson, 40. "When it's 100 degrees outside and you're faced with either doing your yard or being fined, and you can't pay somebody to do it, what do you do? Well, you get out there and do it and suck it up, right?

"But sucking it up killed this (one) gentleman. A very kind elderly man walked outside to do his yard, and he didn't survive. And that's happening all the time."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/05/us/cnnheroes-hudson-seniors/index.html?iref=obinsite

[Stuart G]

1. Great Post...thanks for putting this up...K and R. Remarkable person..

I read much of the story and the officer started an organization to help seniors in need.
Great article..great officer

[redqueen]

2. K&R

He is an inspiring person.

[pnwmom]

3. k & R.

[russspeakeasy]

4. Thanks for the post...

[arcane1]

5. Thanks for posting this!

Sharing!

[Scurrilous]

6. K & R

[myrna minx]

7. Thank you for reminding us of our compassion, humanity and how tragic that

our elderly live like this.

[woo me with science]

8. UNCONSCIONABLE in a country with the wealth of the USA.

Yet we will continue to pour billions into wars, corporate profiteering, and the new surveillance state.

SHAME ON US FOR TOLERATING THIS FROM OUR GOVERNMENT.


The denial needs to stop.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=146626

[Moonwalk]

16. I'm with you! As moving as such stories are, they only serve to remind me....

...how far our government has fallen. We shouldn't HAVE to rely on faith-based organizations, charities and men like this to do the *government's* job of caring for it's people. This situation should not exist. Period.

[virgogal]

27. Don't forget family. I'm elderly and couldn't do it

without family help.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

28. some HAVE no family.

sorry, virgo, I don't mean to snap at you. I'm just upset.

That came from my own fears.....I'm "only" 54, but you have no one and you start thinking about your mortality, and what might happen...... I have found that if you need surgery or any kind of procedure, they won't do it unless you have someone to drive you, stay with you. I live far from everyone. There really isn't anyone I could ask to do me such a big "favor". When I tell them I have no next of kin, no family no one who could care for me while recovering (after all, standard operating procedure now is get 'em out of the bed ASAP so they can stick someone else there), they just continue to ask if I have ANYONE. NO< i DON'T fucking have ANYONE, can you suggest some alternative so I can get this problem taken care of? To that, I get no answer, only the same questions I just answered, "Can't you call a relative?" NO< I don't HAVE ANY! GOT IT??? I can't be the only person in the world with this situation, what can you suggest? And back to the beginning we go.......

I'm moving back to the city very very soon. I'm doing a lot of the packing myself and just HOPING I can get some friends to come out here to help me.

[ellenfl]

33. i'm 62 and know exactly what you're saying. the future looks scary to me. eom

[woo me with science]

34. So many people are in this situation,

and even those who DO have families, often have families that are struggling themselves. This article was about a mother and daughter, for heaven's sake.

I'm glad you and Blanche wrote what you did. People need to hear personal stories and real human voices. Thank you.

The larger issue is that this country has plenty of money to ensure that people don't need to be homeless, or hungry, or go without medicine. If we stopped pouring billions into wars and coddling the rich and corporations in our financial and legal structures, we could easily ensure that no American faces the future with this kind of fear. The Democratic Party used to stand for these values and commitments to people. We need to pull the party back to do that again.

What we are told about not being able to afford basic safety nets is a lie. It is simply a lie. There is tremendous wealth in this country, and where it goes is all about priorities. We have allowed corporate money to flood our government and set the priorities for too long. It's time for that to change.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

37. yes great post, wmws!

Please also read my reply to ellenfl.....

I think it fits in with what you say.

We are creating a new paradigm here....

[BlancheSplanchnik]

36. ellen

I wish I had an answer or at least a suggestion, although the ONE thing we must fight is despair.

Give in to that and you stop seeking any answer, you stop taking useful action....and then, the Universe--whatever your metaphysical views are--cannot participate with you, for your good.

I was voicing my deepest fears, but at the same time, I have had help, exactly what I need when I need it, again and again. I have to seek and keep doing what I can, for myself and to support/encourage others.......

Do that and it seems to keep me in Rhthym.....
AND, we are seeing the need for more HUMANISM in this country.....more people, whatever their creed is, seem to be seeing this......we (everyone here) must encourage such ideas and activities.....

Nam myoho renge kyo, nam myoho renge kyo, nam myoho renge kyo=don't give up!

[woo me with science]

39. Beautifully said.

We have lived in the corporate matrix for so long and been told so many lies about what we should value and what is and isn't possible that it is difficult even to imagine another way of living....a society that values people over profit.

Thank you for this. This is exactly what needs to happen, and what, I hope, is starting to happen now.

[liberalhistorian]

46. Maybe that's another organization that

could be started; volunteers to help people in your situation, without friends or relatives, who need help after a surgery or medical procedure, to drive and stay with them for a bit?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

53. there sure is a need for it

I'm moving back to civilization soon.....will be closer to hospitals and clinics, as well as my spiritual group....

It might be a starting place to go to social services dept at a hospital and open a conversation........ ?

[SemperEadem]

49. I"m in the same situation at 52

my nearest relative is a 3 hour flight away...and last minute plane tickets are prohibitively expensive. The rest of my family is on the west coast--a 4 1/2 hour more expensive plane ticket away. I need to get a procedure done, but I've put it off for over a year because I have no one to drive me home and take care of me.

I recently took a really bad fall in my kitchen--slipped on some water on the floor. I thought I broke my hip. I didn't but I really messed up my elbows and knees, twisted my shoulder and bumped my head. I could not move for 5 minutes and my phone was nowhere near me. I cried like a 2 yr old while on the floor--I could so relate in that moment. Eventually I was able to get up, but what if I had broken my hip? How long would I have been unable to move? Sure, my phone would have rung, but it was in the car at the time, as I was getting ready to go to work when this happened. Living on one's own can be a dangerous enterprise when one does not have a support network in place.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

54. seems many are living alone these days

We need to build connections and also force ourselves to ask friends for help. It is TOUGH....we don't want to impose.

Get proactive on our own behalf.....think of things we can do. I'm in the process of moving from the boondocks back into town. That's a big one.

[woo me with science]

38. "This situation should not exist. Period."

Amen.

[uponit7771]

58. +1!

[siligut]

9. Thank you for a story about a cop with compassion

He is filling a need that one would hope the state would tend to. Florida caters to old people, but only if they have money apparently. Always nice to hear about good people and especially, as in this case, a policeman.

[fascisthunter]

11. agreed!

[fascisthunter]

10. people with a conscience need to come together

this country has been taken over by sociopaths.

[dkf]

12. What a wonderful story!

[drmeow]

13. When I see stories like this

I get all teary eyed and think what a great thing this person has done.

But I also get pissed off that it is even necessary. I don't want to create a non-profit organization which helps those in need - I want to change the f**king system which devalues people so much that this should even be possible.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

29. ! n/t

[badhair77]

14. What a fabulous inspiration.

I'm going to think about ways I can contribute in my community. I've been putting off making a time commitment.

[magic59]

15. And when Mitt becomes president (Obama will be outspent 10 to 1)

He will make the elderly fork out $6500 a year for Medicare. But the good news is his rich buddies will be paying 0% taxes on their billions.

[Mojorabbit]

17. Thanks for this story

I am feeling so bummed out today and really needed something positive.

[Faygo Kid]

18. Paul Ryan's perfect world. Alan Grayson summed it up best.

[kimbutgar]

19. So many times people diss police officers but I have known quite a few police officers and they are

Last edited Fri Jul 20, 2012, 08:27 PM - Edit history (1)

good people. Unfortunately some bad apples give cops a bad name.

Recently I have had unfortunate encounter with the police because I have an autistic son who can get out of control and last time he beat me up and I had to call the police. The officers were respectful of my son and very comforting to me. They took my son to the psych ward and one officer volunteered to stay with me until my husband came home. I told him no but I appreciated his concern.

Then about 3 weeks ago my husband, son and I were driving back from LA to SF and my husband got pulled over for speeding. The officer told us my husband was doing 80 in a 65 mph zone. Then he noticed a movement in the back seat and my son popped up from his blanket. He didn't have his seat belt on and he took it off and we didn't notice. My husband and I realized we would get a speeding ticket and a click it ticket. I guess when my son emerged he looked pretty strange and I told the officer my son is autistic and he had his seat belt on but must of took it off. The cop looked at us and said, "I'm going to let you off with a warning because you have bigger challenges in your life and I'm not going to add to it today but please slow down and drive 65 and then he said to my son "put your seat belt on son". Then he walked away! We were shocked and happy at the same time. It restored my faith in law enforcement officers that they have humanity.

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. cool story. Glad you had positive interactions with cops

[RufusTFirefly]

32. I think politics and law enforcement both attract society's best and worst

Although I remain very skeptical of police in general, I personally know a couple of wonderful cops. And I've met some politicians who seem to have their hearts in the right place.

What worries me about both fields is that good, idealistic people who truly want to make a better world can get jaded/corrupted over time. Or simply burned out and discouraged.

Our society does very little to nurture and support people who aren't selfish SOBs.

[kimbutgar]

57. Sad but true

[Forgot username]

21. That's awesome

Don't see much in the news that police have much empathy at all. Refreshing to say the least!

[valerief]

22. Bootstraps. Individuals. Freedoms. Personal responsibility.

Anything else is socialism, and that's bad because Rush says so.

[YOHABLO]

23. It's All About Training Folks

Training training and more training ... developing the skills to deal with situations that call for some understanding of the human condition. Many people have disabilities and law enforcement needs to be aware of them .. a course on Americans living with disabilities, and dealing with the elderly should be mandatory in any police department training program. I am sure it is in some, but EVERY POLICE DEPARTMENT .. too many "dumb shit" police officers are "protecting us" hah.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

24. Wait'll the dirtbag Kochs, Wall St. and the Republicans get rid of Social Security

and Medicare. You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet.

We're going back to the "good ol days" before such things existed and most elderly just died from preventable sickness, poverty, injury, disease.

Nobody these days remembers those days. But we're all going to get a first-hand education about it.

[Jefferson23]

25. Excellent..K&R n/t

[KauaiK]

26. Fed-Up cop says "enough"

I am disgusted by the callous disregard by the austerity budget GOP wingnuts for those less fortunate than themselves - old or young! 25% of children live at or below the poverty level in this country. It's staggering to compare stories like this to the offshore & Swiss bank accounts + the $77,000 tax credit for a horse of Mr. Mitt.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

30. Thank god for HIM!!! Now how many more of him do we need??

since there are many many more like those women.

and many many more heartless neighborhood associations demanding fees, and offering no help or alternatives, no matter what your situation is.

Groupthink=Lord of the Flies

[harun]

31. Good post

[Odin2005]

35. We need more men in blue like him!

[Mimosa]

40. This report is more important than 'gun' threads

Liberal in LA, this is the truth many people are living.

Thank you.

[Bertha Venation]

50. "This report is more important than 'gun' threads" -- DAMN RIGHT. n/t

[Mopar151]

41. Cops are like bartenders

Their most important work is not covered in the job description.


PS - Met my friend's favorite bartender backalong - smokin' hot, full of mischief. She's in AA - she'll be glad to fix you a drink if you want one - but if you NEED one - we gotta talk.

[eomer]

42. A great guy, no doubt, but shame on CNN...

for an article that talks about the larger context but, no surprise, fails to mention the real solutions. They are happy to promote the idea of cops and firemen passing the hat to help seniors but somehow didn't mention that taxing the wealthy is the only real solution.

And Zach Hudson, he seems a great guy, but he too talks about the larger context (look at his talks on YouTube about the Bible and churches) but doesn't (that I could find) talk about the causes or include advocacy of real solutions rather than just the inevitably inadequate bandaids that can be accomplished by groups like his. In other words, I wish he would take an approach like that of Planned Parenthood, which does both direct aid and advocacy:

http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/

[GTurck]

43. As a young....

elder, 69, I am okay as long as my husband and I are relatively healthy and he is alive. I don't know what I would do without him, literally. He does many of the physical things that I can no longer do and he chauffeurs me everywhere because my interocular hypertension is increasingly headed toward full blown glaucoma (blindness). We have a combined pension and Social Security income just a few thousand dollars over the poverty line. When he dies, if he dies first, I will lose the buffer and be fully at the poverty level if not below.

[Bertha Venation]

51. GTurck

I wish I had some words of comfort.

[dixiegrrrrl]

56. You and me both.

We can make it, just barely, with our combined retirement incomes, but neither of us can make it on one income.
Plan B does not look so good to most folks.

[woo me with science]

44. Kick

[Rozlee]

45. I've been googling around trying to find out the name

of this one police officer in San Antonio about 25 years back. Cops would regularly do sweeps of homeless people in the Mahncke Park and Brackenridge Park area, which was close to the ritzy Alamo Heights suddivision. The rich people close by would call in complaining of all the homeless panhandling or setting up sleeping bags in the parks. Some of the homeless were even in wheelchairs and had amputations from service in the Vietnam War. The cops would come in and pick them up and haul them to jail. This one police officer refused. He said it wasn't a crime to be poor. I don't know if he got discipled for failure to obey a lawful order, but the story always stuck to me. Here was a family man who needed his job, but decided to make a stand out of compassion and principle.

[quakerboy]

47. What a nice shiny story

What a shame that it is a story. There are lots of stories like it. And yet so many people falling through cracks, because we do not have a real system to handle this. And thats the answer. Something that our whole society does to fix the whole problem. Not a few heroes standing in the gap.

[drm604]

48. Here's a link to the group he formed.

http://seniorsinterventiongroup.org

[cbrer]

52. BTW- Lake Mary Fla.

Is right next to Sanford Fla.

The home of the nut job police that didn't arrest Zimmerman in the face of his crime.

Some Florida police are pretty damned decent folks!

[snappyturtle]

55. Nice to read about this police officer and his efforts...big ol' K&R!

It's a hopeful message.