Family may not have
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There won’t be any Christmas for Keith Hostottle and his wife, Christie, and their three children. Like many other people caught up in the same situation, Keith has no job and has been out of work since May of this year. His wife also lost her job in November.
Keith says he has been everywhere knocking on doors and he gets the same answer: “We’re not hiring.“
“I’ve probably been at a hundred places,” he said.
Keith and his wife have knocked on doors of almost all the churches in Lehigh, too, and even though they sympathize, most say they have no food, even the ones who have had food banks, say they are down to nothing.
Food stamps and modest unemployment payments has been keeping this family together but the emotional strains are beginning now to show real stress and strain. Keith did not contact The Lehigh Acres Citizen, but his mother did. She lives in Texas and in a letter, she said she fears for her son and his wife.
“The reason for my email is to see if I could get help for my son and his family who live in Lehigh Acres. He is married and has three kids, a 19-year-old who has medical problems; another son who is 10 and a daughter who is 16.
“They both have lost their jobs although they do receive unemployment and food stamps, the money does not feed a family even for two weeks. Their electric has been shut off and they have tried unsuccessfully to get help to get it turned back on but the unemployment check every two weeks only pays for their rent with a little left over.”
She sends small amounts of money as often as she can to help, she said.
Keith’s wife wiped tears from her eyes when she was asked if they had a Christmas tree.
“Yes we have an artificial one, but we’re not putting it up because we don’t have anything for the children or each other for Christmas. We have told them that there won’t be any Christmas this year and I think they understand.”
This past week, Keith and his wife found another place to live that is located on Abrams Ave., but to get in, they have had to spend days cleaning up what was left by a prior tenant.
The duplex only has two bedrooms, so Keith and his wife say they’ll sleep on an air mattress in the living room between the kitchen and the dining area on the floor. The unit is covered with white tile and the kitchen cabinets are white and Christie has been scrubbing so much this past week that her hands are red from the work. Together, he and his wife moved their furniture to the duplex this past weekend.
Keith says he has never been in a situation like this before.
Not only did he lose one job, but he lost two. He was working for a moving company in Fort Myers and also for a convenience store that has shut down or cut back on hours.
“It hurts when you can’t support your family and you have to take money from your mother,” he said, turning his head away and wiping away tears with his hands. “It’s just hard … I’ve tried to get a job and there are so many people in the same situation as we are that it’s hard to get a job anywhere around here,” he said. “It is just hard to find work for everyone.”
Keith is 42 and his wife is 37. His mother wrote she is afraid the stress will kill her son and his wife.
“What are families to do to get assistance? My son cries, because it is so heart breaking not to be able to take care of his family. It’s Christmas time and that puts a lot of stress on everyone, not just his family, but others as well.
“What are people to do? It’s very difficult to find the locations of organizations that could possibly help and then you use gas money to get there and they can’t help you,” his mother wrote.”
On Saturday and Sunday, Keith used an old pickup truck he has to move furniture to the new location.
But before he could start, he needed gas money and Dewey Tyler, owner of the Chad Truong Business Center at 205 Joel Blvd., and the Tyler Kwon Do school and health center, came to his rescue.
“We want to help that family. I told them to meet me at the gasoline station and I’d fill up their pickup truck and their 15-year-old automobile,” he said.
When the family was being interviewed, Christie said there was no gas in her car, that the red light was on. The old car also needs work, something to do with the front end. But Keith isn’t a mechanic and he doesn’t know what to do to save the car and keep it going.
When Tyler first learned of the Hostottle family situation, the first thing he did was offer a place for Keith and his family to take warm showers.
Without electricity since Oct. 1, the family has used rags with cold water for baths. They have been able to get water from one of the churches in town. They had no water because they had no electric to operate the pump. Another person was able to come up with some food. Agencies in town were not able to help. It’s the same story everywhere.
George Duncan of Lehigh Acres has stepped into the picture to offer help, too. A story appeared in The Citizen last week about his forming a food bank in Lehigh because he sees a greater need that is not being met. And ever since, people have been coming to get free food, no questions asked.
“We’re going to get them food too, to supplement the food stamps,” he said. And today, Wednesday, Dec. 17, Duncan planned to get friends with pickup trucks to travel to Clewiston to pick corn from a farm for his food bank.
“Keith’s going with us to help pick the corn,” Tyler said. “He wants to help. He’s willing to do anything to help his family.”
Tyler has asked friends and tenants at his business complex at 205 Joel Blvd. to help and they are working to come up with money to pay the deposit so the electric can be turned on. Prior to moving to the duplex, the family was using an outside barbecue grill to cook their food. There have been several cold nights in Lehigh over the past month with temperatures at night dipping into the mid 40s, but the family has wrapped up in blankets to stay warm.
Tyler also said Dr. George Duncan, who opened up the food bank, is helping to find Keith a job.
“There’s a possibility of a job at the casino at Immokalee … Dr. Duncan’s going to do what he can,” he said. Tyler said that if anyone can hire these people, or can help out in other ways, they are encouraged to call him at 205 Joel Blvd.
“It’s Christmas and this family has nothing. If there are those in Lehigh who want to give Christmas gifts, they can bring them here to our office. We will see that they get them before Christmas,” he said.
Tyler said that he feels people who can, should help each other. He said he was recently helped with a high mortgage payment on his business building.
“The bank notified me they were going to lower the mortgage payment to a much lesser amount,” he said. “That has helped me. I want to pass that help on to someone else,” he said.
And so do many of the people Tyler has called on to chip in. Money is needed to buy a new bed or beds for the two boys. Christie Hostottle said their bed has come apart and the mattress and box springs are no good. The parents could also use a good sofa bed to sleep on in the living room. There’s money needed for repair of their old car, too. Tyler wonders if a local mechanic may find it in his heart to help out to fix the car.
“They have to have transportation. If we can help him and her get jobs, they have to have a way to get to work,” Tyler said.
“We’re collecting to aid this family that deserves help this holiday season. Not unlike many others in the community, they have fallen through the cracks due to the ailing economy in our area. It is not their fault.
There are millions of Americans here and across the country who have lost their jobs this year.
“We are accepting money and financial gifts and we will provide assistance to them. We’re not handing over cash, but providing the things they need,” Tyler said.
“Times are tough for everyone. It’s not going to be a big Christmas for a lot of people because of jobs being lost and businesses being closed up everywhere.
“It a sad time,” he said.
Here are some of those who have so far helped Tyler. They include: Mike Armstrong, Closing Search & Exam Title Co., Gulf Coast Home Helpers and Co., Ram Yon, Consultant, Country Roads Cafe, Emmy’s Place Complete Hair Care, Avon ISR, Dolores D’Angeld, and Porzio’s Painting Inc.
“We have a lot of hungry people in Lehigh without jobs. I would ask anyone who can help financially to send checks to Dr. Duncan here at 205 Joel Blvd. He is buying food from food banks all over the state of Florida. And once it comes in, it’s gone before the day is out. He spends almost every day finding food for the hungry.
“He doesn’t ask them how much they make and he doesn’t make them fill out forms to show what they own. He knows from meeting them that they need food and they need help,” Tyler said.
Duncan could use help from area clubs and organizations, too, Tyler said. If you want to become a part of this food bank and help to go and get food, load it on trucks and return to Lehigh, contact Tyler or Duncan.