INSPIRATION – THE FORRESTERS

Our relationships with senior citizens are the inspiration for starting Seasons of Washington.  One couple’s story, Joe and Dorothy Forrester, especially touched our hearts.

Joe always refers to his wife, Dorothy, as “my bride”.  They are a happy, loving pair, who have been married 65 years.  Joe and Dorothy grew up during the Great Depression.  The stories they tell of survival and family are stirring.  One day Joe recalled picking cotton as a child, explaining the difference between picking and pulling cotton.  He also enjoys sharing his family’s ingenuity with stretching limited sources of food.  Joe is a gifted vocalist, and plays recordings of church choirs he led, and a country album he made.  Dorothy is Joe’s support in all things.

Joe Forrester understands hard work and dedication.   He eventually went on to be a fire restoration contractor.  He lived the American dream, married the love of his life, and is the proud father of 2 children.  He followed the rules, and like most in his generation, he saved money and put it away for retirement.  What Joe didn’t plan for was the economic downturn of 2008.  Senior citizens were hit hard when the banks simply “lost” billions in retirement plans, and the thought of reimbursing the money didn’t occur to them when they received the bailout money from the taxpayers.

In early 2013, recipients of Social Security were given a COLA (Cost Of Living Adjustment) for the first time in years.  Joe and Dorothy were looking forward to an additional $86 a month.  It was just the cushion they needed to fill the gap on the continuously rising cost of living.  However, Joe didn’t plan on a predatory landlord.  The day after the COLA was implemented, he received a letter from his landlord stating that his rent was being increased by $86 per month – the exact amount of his COLA!  This was the final nudge that gave our Executive Director the idea to create a non-profit and help people like Joe and Dorothy.

“We owe these people.  We owe them the opportunity that we have today to be successful.  This country was built by their hard work, and they deserve to have what they were promised.” ~ Erica Norton