Patricia enjoys some Monopoly with her grandsons.
At first glance, you would never suspect that Patricia has overcome so much hardship. Her appearance is youthful, with smooth skin and shoulder length braids. Her exuberant personality puts everyone in the room in a good mood. Patricia, a resident of Mt.Eden, is a heart attack survivor living with HIV for nearly 30 years. She takes excellent care of her health – taking her medication religiously, eating a healthy diet, and running after her grandchildren. Patricia is a bus matron at a Bronx elementary school, and with the recent bus strike, has been out of work and without income for weeks. As the guardian of her two grandsons, Jeremiah, 9, and Isaiah, 8, she needs help paying ever increasing bills, let alone saving. Patricia was able to file her taxes for free at UNHP. She doubled her annual income with her return, including over $2,200 in Earned Income Credit, and was able to keep every penny. Last year, Patricia paid $500 to file her taxes with Jackson Hewitt. Patricia plans to use her refund to start saving and to pay bills that have been on hold since the start of the bus strike. Of the service at UNHP, Patricia said, “Everyone is always very courteous…I’ll absolutely be back next year!”
