Michael Pressley said he never needed help until he got hurt on the job and was let go.
“I then started working in what I could — cutting grass, doing odd jobs,” said the 47-year-old in an almost empty home he’s borrowing in Southside.
Mr. Pressley recently received $200 from the Chattanooga Times Free Press’ Neediest Cases Fund to help him pay for his electricity deposit, money he said he had no other way of getting.
“I needed to turn the water and electricity on, but I only had money for one of them,” he said.
Throughout the year, the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults helps meet the needs of people such as Mr. Pressley through the newspaper’s Neediest Cases Fund.
During the past couple of years, requests for help have increased, especially for utility bills and rent payment, according to Susan Geary, case manager for Neediest Cases.
Mr. Pressley said finding a job is hard right now, but as soon as he gets back on his feet he’ll pay back the $200 that helped him have lights and a warm house.
“I had to go apply for food stamps,” he said. “I had never had food stamps.”
He said his doctor wanted him to get disability payments for the nerve damage he received at work that causes him to limp when he walks, but he doesn’t want to do that.
“I’m just 47, I’m not that old yet,” he said. “I feel I can still pull another 10 years at least.”
Perla Trevizo joined the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 2007 and covers immigration/diversity issues and higher education. She holds a master’s degree in newswire journalism from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas. In 2011 she participated in the Bringing Home the World international reporting fellowship program sponsored by the International Center for Journalists, producing a series on Guatemalan immigrants for which she ...
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