Scrappy is a rescue dog, the runt of the litter, as a matter of fact. He's weeks old, half pit bull and half German shepherd. "Why did you want a dog in the first place?" "I'm single. For now. And I just wanted something."
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"One of the coolest things that ever happened to me was THON, the Penn State Dance Marathon. It's the largest student-run philanthropy in the world and they raise money for kids with cancer. This past year they just raised fourteen million." "How did you get involved with it?" "My freshman year, I had an organization that was involved and by my senior year, I was a 'moraler', which is basically a crazy girl for keeping our dancers who dance 46 hours, no sleeping, no sitting, and the morale keeps them on their feet and keeps them going." Gotta say, the turkey and bacon ranch pie here was insanely good… "My name is Debbie Lane. I'm sixty years old, and I've been baking for just about the long. My specialty is pies, using an heirloom crust recipe that's very flaky and buttery. I do fruit pies using all of the fruits and vegetables locally--Scholl's Orchards, Beechwood Orchards--I use local dairy products from BAD Farm, Ironstone Creamery, Valley Milkhouse. I like "Buy Fresh, Buy Local,' because that's what goes into my pies. And I'm opening my own bakery here in the Easton Public Market in the fall." Until then, you can visit her at the Farmers' Market or go to her website at www.debbieskitchen.net. "I joined the Army because I wanted stability." "How is the Army different from how you pictured it?" "It's way easier than I thought it would be. I was picturing what they have in the movies, you know, people constantly yelling in your face, and it's not like that at all. It's very relaxed, even though there's a serious and professional atmosphere, it's still friendly." "I just took a securities license exam. There were a lot of tiresome evenings and stressful days. But it's been a passion since right out of college, following the markets and so forth." "Why do you feel that it's your calling?" "Oh, interaction with people, clients, something different every day. Not sitting at a desk all day, every day. I want to help people attain their financial goals." "I was at a different homeless shelter and I served myself some meat, and the supervisor didn't like that, so I got into an argument. I got some temper, and my mouth took over and they kicked me out." "What do you want people to know about you? When they see your face on the blog, what do you want them to know?" "I'm kind-hearted and try to help people when I can, but being unemployed right now it's very difficult. I'm thinking about going to school to be a counselor." "My name is Christina. I am a resident here at Safe Harbor due to domestic violence. I was beaten, and Tyler (Rogers, Safe Harbor's Executive Director) helped me with getting in here. Lost my apartment, most everything that I owned and thank God for Safe Harbor or I'd be out there in the streets. Don't know how I would have survived. I'm starting my life over, thanks to these people, to Jen, my case worker and other staff members. I am in recovery for alcoholism. I am also in recovery for the abuse. I actually run A.A. meetings and I cook. But this place is a safe haven for me right now. I've met so many incredible people. This is my family. It's been a long road, even though I've only been here a month and a half, but I'm safe. When I leave from here, I will plan on coming back and I will volunteer. I will tell the other residents that move in here after I do what this place has done for me; and also, the residents of the Easton area, if you need help, shelter, anything, do not hesitate to come to Safe Harbor. They will help you with everything." "So, what's your dream? When you get out of her, what do you want to do?" "I'm actually an assistant wedding coordinator; I went to the Culinary School of Art in North Carolina, that's where I'm from, and I plan on going into the restaurant industry and getting my own place and getting up with my babies in North Carolina, seeing my granddaughter. Just living a happy, full life again, where I don't have to be hurt, and have a healthy relationship. That's my number one goal. I just want to be happy." Mark says he'd always lived a good life growing up, despite his father's alcoholism and his mother's putting up with it because she didn't want to lose their house. He told me that Safe Harbor has done everything for him that he can't do for himself: "I go through bipolar depression, ADHD, and have some problems with working. I'm a hard worker, but sometimes the ADHD throws me off. I have an eight-year-old daughter I've been paying support for, but the amount of support I'm paying really puts me in a bind. With the disability--I apply for SSI and SSD--they only give you 24 hours. I'm in a situation where I can get the mental health help, but what happens is I get a job, I lose that, and without being able to hold a job for long periods of time, I lose the social security as well. So, I'm kind of in a circle, a circle that I've been going through for some time. It's been rough. It's only a matter of time before they lock me up again because of it. I can't win. You either get a job and you struggle to go and do anything you can, but the disability seems to cut you off. It's only a matter of time until I can't work; you know, I'll make excuses or whatever and then I have to go back and wait two or three months to get medical, so this whole time I can't et my medication for the bipolar because I have a job and I make too much. Unfortunately when I'm paying $470 in support and a ten dollar-an-hour job, it doesn't leave you with enough to live." "So how do you keep your spirits up knowing that this is all inevitably going to keep happening and that you'll be locked up again?" "I honestly don't keep my spirits up. The rough part is everywhere I go, I talk to county officials constantly because I'm doing everything they ask me to do, and every time I ask them that question, they shake their heads and can't give me an answer. That's the way it is. If they choose to put me in for another six months, I have to do that. Eventually I'll get the work release, which they take every penny, so when you get out of jail you have no money to get a place. You come out of jail again being homeless and you're in the same trifle." Me: "What's the most important advice that you could give to your children that would have a lasting impact?" Dad: "You gotta figure out how to go through life, be happy on your own, be true to yourself and enjoy what you do." Me: "How do you model that for them?" Dad: "I don't know. What do you think guys? What do I do that makes you happy?" Daughter: "I went to Dorney Park!" Son: "I went across country once." Dad: "Yup. He and I and my father flew out to Seattle, picked up an old motor home. fixed it up and drove it back to Atlanta cross country, seeing all the national parks and everything in-between, just taking our time and making memories together." Christopher Black explains how he turned his passion for theater into a local resource: "I started a theater group called the Bachmann Players at the Bachmann Tavern. It's very exciting because we recreate historical events and it's like a community theater. I used to be in theater myself professionally ten years ago, and I never thought I was ever going to do it again. So now I get a lot of local community involved and they do these really unique things for people and it's really fun." If you want to get involved, you can visit www.BachmannPlayers.com. |
These are the stories of the people of Easton, PA Archives
August 2018
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