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NMCRS OFFERING A HELPING HAND – 2007
1. A service couple was married in 2003. The spouse had had a kidney transplant in 1991, but the procedure had failed and the spouse was on dialysis now and had incurred over $4,000.00 in medical bills since the marriage, and had credit card debt totaling over $15,000.00 due to prescriptions and medical expenses. Subsequently the husband joined the Navy and the medical costs were covered under TRICARE. The service couple requested assistance from the Society for the earlier bills. The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Headquarters authorized assistance as a grant for the medical bills, and authorized an interest-free loan for the credit card debt, to be repaid over a 24-month period.
2. A Petty Officer stationed overseas returned to CONUS on PCS orders with a new wife. The service couple had difficulty adjusting to living within their income and started using payday lenders. The petty officer got behind in his rent and also borrowed funds from Military Loans and Pioneer Loans, compounding his financial problems. The service member requested assistance from the Society for one month’s rent, food and gasoline and funds to pay off six payday loans. The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society headquarters authorized the assistance as an interest-free loan. We deferred the start of the allotment for 3 months and set up the repayment for 10 months to minimize the impact on the family.
3. A Lance Corporal, who was seriously injured in Iraq, was experiencing a lot of pain and having difficulty sleeping on his regular mattress at home. The Naval Medical Center conducted a sleep study and determined that the service member was able to sleep through the night on the TEMPUR-PEDIC mattress and foundation beds they have at the medical center. The Society granted funds for the purchase of a new orthopedic mattress.
4. A service couple purchased a home 2 ˝ years ago, and they financed it with an interest only loan. The mortgage payments started out low, but soon escalated to $1,200.00 more than the original payment. The family started falling behind in payment of their bills. They needed help with car payments, medical bills, childcare, and also asked for help with food and gas. They lost their house to foreclosure and asked for assistance from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society after they moved into PPV housing. The Society assisted with a loan for two car payments and grants of nearly $2,500.00 for their PPV rent, food, childcare, gas and the family’s cost share for medical and dental bills.
5. An E-1, enroute to his first duty station in San Diego spent some time in Colorado. While he was there, his car was stolen along with his military and personal clothing and his service record. His car was recovered, but all of his clothes and records were missing. He arrived in San Diego without any uniforms or civilian clothes. He requested assistance from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and was provided funds for civilian clothes and a chit to the Thrift Shop to pick out any uniform items he needed at no cost. After the weekend he came back with a listing of uniform items that he needed to complete his sea bag, and we loaned him the funds to do so.
6. A service couple living in Navy housing had a fire destroy all of their household possessions. The cause was determined to be a defective air conditioner. The family requested help from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. The Society provided an interest-free loan of over $3,600.00 for a new bedroom set for their young son, a mattress and box spring for the service couple, bed linens, blankets, pillows, towels, cooking and eating utensils, a chest of drawers, a dinette set, a couch, lamps and a microwave. The service member had initiated legal action against the manufacturer of the air conditioner, and if a settlement was received the service member was going to repay the loan, but if his claim was denied then the entire assistance was going to be given as a grant.
7. The baby of a Lance Corporal was born with extensive health complications that required the baby to remain in the Naval Medical Center for four months. The Lance Corporal and his wife were assisted throughout the four months with various needs, including lodging, food and gasoline. On occasion the service couple was able to stay at the Fisher House, but sometimes stayed at a nearby hotel. The Lance Corporal often had to commute from Oceanside to the Naval Medical Center. The Society wound up providing more than $4,900.00 as a grant to assist this family.
8. The Command Master Chief on a deployed ship contacted the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society for assistance in arranging for an airline ticket from their liberty port to San Diego to enable a service member to be seen for a serious medical problem at the Naval Medical Center. The ship was scheduled to leave the port the next day. The service member did not have a credit card or funds in his bank account to pay for his own ticket to San Diego. The Society was able to book the serviceman an E-ticket and complete the necessary paperwork via e-mail with the command.
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