Contributed photo by United Way of Rhea County / Neediest Cases recipient Terry Russell lives in Dayton, Tenn.Terry Russell remembers the day he went to the United Way office in Rhea County, Tennessee.
"I was raised to take care of myself," said Russell, 62, of Dayton, "so that was hard."
It was September of this year, and Russell needed help getting his rent caught up. He got it from the Chattanooga Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund, through the United Way.
"He told us he'd never asked for assistance, as he'd always worked," said Angie Dixon, solutions coordinator for United Way in Rhea County. "He said he enjoys working and really wanted to keep working."
Russell said he couldn't, though, because he got sick in November 2021. He said his symptoms were consistent with those of COVID-19, but he was never so diagnosed. He said his doctors cleared him to go back to work the first week of January 2022, but he knew he wasn't ready.
"I went in to see my supervisor to ask him if I could be laid off," with an eye toward coming back later, when he was healthier. His supervisor, he said, had something else in mind.
"He said he'd already turned in my termination papers," Russell said. "He never said why, but I sort of understood -- I'd been out since November, but I'd given them a lot. I worked three or four months with no rotator cuff.
"It sort of hurt, because it was the first time I'd ever been fired from a job," he said, adding that his ex-employer sent him away with a $300 Christmas bonus.
So Russell faced the new year with that $300 and a monthly pension of $240 from a previous job.
"For about six months, I had no income," he said. "I couldn't draw unemployment, because you have to be looking for a job, and there wasn't any way I could do anything."
Russell said his sister, Connie Daugherty, moved in with him while her home was being repaired. She helped, he said, and then came the September trip to United Way. He said he's also received help with his electric bill.
Russell was quick to add that, while this year has been difficult, he's learned a valuable lesson.
"I learned to make it on less," he said. "All I need is what it takes me to live."
Russell said his prospects should brighten considerably with the new year -- he should start drawing Social Security in January and is making progress on a disability claim.
"I used to drive 46-and-a-half miles, one way, to go to work," he said. "Take away the money I used to have to use to buy gas, and my income will be almost what it was when I was working.
"Hopefully," he said, "everything will get better for me in January."
Russell said his plan for the new year is to start working toward becoming a youth pastor "wherever God opens that door."
"I always wondered why I got along better with teenagers than adults," he said. "I can talk to them better. I like their music. It was God showing me that was the calling in my life."
The Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund was started in 1914 by Adolph Ochs, then the publisher of the Chattanooga Times. The Fund receives donations from Times Free Press readers. Money is administered and distributed to individuals and families in need by the United Way of Greater Chattanooga and partner agencies. Recipients must be working or on a fixed income and be able to demonstrate ongoing stability and self-sufficiency after receiving Neediest Cases funds.
According to United Way figures, the Neediest Cases Fund took in $81,000 last year and, in turn, helped 79 adults and 61 children in 54 households. Neediest Cases money went in 2020 to 60 adults and 40 children in 42 households.
Contact Bob Gary at bgary@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.