Neediest Cases fund provides ailing mother with deposit for pest-free apartment

Shameca Burt, photographed Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., was able to relocate her ailing mother from the Patten Towers to an apartment in the Highway 58 era with help from the Neediest Cases fund. Shameca Burt, photographed Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn., was able to relocate her ailing mother from the Patten Towers to an apartment in the Highway 58 era with help from the Neediest Cases fund.

By Yolanda Putman December 6, 2015 3 min read

To donate

Call 423-757-6208 to make a tax-deductible donation or go to timesfreepress.com/news/neediestcases/2015/.

Shameca Burt desperately wanted to move her ailing mother out of her bedbug-infested Chattanooga apartment, but she had no money to pay the rental deposit for a new place.

Her prayers were answered by a $450 gift from the Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund that paid for a rental deposit. Burt’s mother moved to a better apartment in March.

“I still remember her clapping. She was so happy to roll on the porch and see the trees and watch the cars go by,” said Burt.

Her mother’s enjoyment was brief – she died of heart attack in July.