A Family At The Brink

"The Other America": A New York Family Goes From Middle Class To Shopping At A Food Pantry

(CBS)  It's just a few blocks from her home in Endicott, New York -- but this is a walk Brenda Hudy has never made.

"I heard that you had a food pantry here," Brenda says as she stands outside a door to a church. "… and I'm here to get help."

It's the wrong door, but the right place: "Mother Teresa's Cupboard."

"Hi, how are you?" asks Mary Roma, the Director of Mother Teresa's Cupboard.

"Could be better," Brenda says.

"I know, I know," Mary says. "It's not easy."

It's not easy because it's Brenda's first-ever trip to a food pantry, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.

"The only requirement for you coming here is that you need food," Mary says.

"Why do you think it's so hard?" Doane asks. "Just the uncertainty?"

"Yeah, of what's going to happen," Brenda says tearfully. "Because with the house foreclosing and having trouble buying food … sorry, it just makes it really hard."

Just how hard was clear the night before as Brenda prepared dinner for her family. She shows Doane her nearly empty cupboard.

Brenda and her husband Mark try to keep things normal for their growing boys -- Kyle and Brandon. Normal used to be a comfortable middle-class life making $70,000, until Mark fell off a ladder at work installing cable. He was a subcontractor and didn't have insurance.

"It feels like someone is just taking my muscles in my leg and just is twisting them like a cloth," Mark says.

He now suffers from a painful nerve condition called RSD.

"I wasn't broke two years ago," he says. "I worked and I worked every day and I worked hard, and now I can't."

So Brenda does work part-time cleaning a nearby church. Combined with Mark's disability check, they bring in less than $25,000 a year.

"We've had to sell a lot of things," Mark says.

The first to go were vacations and motorcycles.

"A few weeks ago we did have no money," Brenda says. "to go and buy food so we went to our local pawn shop."

But that didn't make much of a dent, and now they're about to lose their electricity and house.

"This electricity notice is for 12 days from now," Doane says. "The foreclosure, same date, date before, it's all right around the corner."

"Right, which is very difficult to even want to face," Brenda says.

They have no idea where they'll be next week. At least today Brenda was able to find some food and some comfort, too.

[toldyouso21]

THERE are MILLIONS of Hudys and soon will be hundreds of millions more. So how does one decide to help the ones savvy enough to get on the news and not help the millions of others? Look around you--if you really want to help, don't always reach for the star--find a person in need right down the street from you or in your own city, it is the failure of cities/counties/states that result in no jobs and this woebegone existence--help those in your own state and in doing so, you may just one day be able to help yourself or save someone you know. Charity begins at home--not on what we see on a CBS channel or blog. I have my own "hudys" who I help--NONE live in New York--their needs are just as dire ----

[coolbeans34]

If you would like to donate, the Hudy''s address is:
1001 Broad St.
Endicott, NY 13760

This info was posted on their local CBS website, www.wbng.com

[fkuang]

Listen here NYRICK,

I have known the Hudy''s for over a year now. As neighbors they have demonstrated nothing but kindness towards me a my family. I dont care about their past. To me they are wonderful people as i see them now. They deserve all the help they can get.

Obviously you must be a miserable person, go crawl under the rock you came from.

Do you think the authorities care what you say. All you are to them is some junky who is still living with Mommy and stealing from Grandma. Get a life pal.

And one more thing ,Please feel free to post your address.
I would like to send you a generous donation, a large bag lint. that is all your worth loser.

[nyrick2]

Leslie,
For someone who claims not to know this family, you sure spend alot of time defending them. To correct you, I never said he was a "big time" dealer, he was low to mid level at best. If you want to know where all the money went ask them, they threw it away on clothes, cars,trucks, motorcycles, fancy dinners, etc..They certainly didn''t save it or buy insurance. Next, I am not obligated to contact the police about the actions of others, I prefer to let karma deal with these types(as it is doing now). However since you feel so strongly on the subject, I did contact the NYS Police, the Endicott Police (who seemed uninterested at best), and also the DAMMAD website. Hopefully the Hudy''s will have something other than your donations to thank you for. Finally, before you use multi syllable words, consult Webster for their meaning(unsubstantiated). Just because I say it does not make it true, but I was in fact there! That does make it true. To refer to people who witnessed the Hudy''s illegal activities and shared them on this site as anonymous cowards shows how narrow minded you truly are. Being that you do not know, nor have never met these people, it is your input that is unsubstantiated! I had to give my name and email address to be able to post here and I have yet to be contacted by any police agency or CBS as I invited them to do.

[toldyouso21]

If you really want Karma to deal with them, then why are you in the thick of it. Shut up, Karma does not require your 2 cents to get the job done, and remember even in doing this--you may be in need of help someday and like you admitted to--someone may bring up your sordid past to deny you help...If it happens to you--remember these posts and that Karma is indeed a beeeyatch and she doesn't play favorites.

[jadonay]

I feel really bad for this family..... But, if the husband is on Disability, there are PROGRAMS AVAILABLE through SS Disability to get RETRAINED - what about learning Drafting, or Medical Billing or Coding? These jobs make a decent living and you sit in a chair at a desk during the day? Check with the local SS office or Private Industry Council or the Local EDD office for retraining - it''s better than being down and worried..... It will give you back your self-esteem!!!!

[toldyouso21]

retraining. In a recession. Why oh why is it, in every downturn, the vocational commercials come out and more people than you would ever think, end up with worthless degrees in glutted markets. Case in point: In 1982, Chrysler pushed workers to take a buy out with options to take courses at IVY tech in air conditioning repair. Now. Imagine a town with few jobs and about 300 air conditioning repairmen, now imagine everyone cutting their bills by not using airconditioning...vocational jobs--are you learning yet?

[baicas]

I have worked a full time job, and two part time jobs since getting out of college over 20 years ago. Still it hard to make ends meet. But I am doing it on my own.

My question is if he''s disabled, why can''t she work full time, while he''s at home with the kids. One must help theirselves, especially when they created the problem by not having the foresight to put money back for a rainy day, and having insurance. If anyone is sending money maybe you should divert it to the Vet who doesn''t have gas, or electricity, it sounds like the Vet needs that money more than they do.

[toldyouso21]

Maybe..in this economic climate..there are no full time jobs to get. Its not rocket science or do you think workers pull their own jobs out of their own butts?

[pulling56]

I am that lower middle class family that is too struggling, what appauls me in regards to the story are the horrible comments made against this family, if he did all that those said about him why would he go public, I know first hand hwere a majority of the working class money goes and it is for all the welfare cases in this area. Someone needs to spend more money on fraud to our welfare and medicaid system than beating up a family with hard times not to mentioned been diagnosed with a terrible illness. These people are trying to make the best of a bad situation, I am sure there are many many more like that family out there. I know first hand what social security disability expects people to live on . I have a friend that was injured at work and the nightmare he went through just to get what he deserved. All of you who sit in judgement of this family should think twice, have you done everything perfect , are you ready for a disaster? Have you stood in line at the electric company behind an elderly person begging to have the electric turned back on for heat, have you stood in line with one item such as a piece of fruit and spent your last change.The rich are getting richer and still spending ,but the rest of us are trying to maintain. Yes they may have to find something smaller to live in and yes they may have to make many changes but they are just one family of thousands that are struggling to stay a float. I wish I could help but I will pray for less judgemental people.

[onedndylyon]

Hey gang,
I still won''t post their mailing address, but our local CBS affiliate ran a spot on the Hudys.
Email them at (written to eliminate spammers):
MHudy1 at stny.rr.com
She has been offered a job at an unnamed business, so we''ll see what happens.

Crackpot remark - so many people know how to search for folks online, that they could easily call and leave snarky messages, rather than more positive ones.

She did state on the local broadcast, she''d like suggestions and words of ES&H - experience, strength and hope. So to those who feel she could be doing more to assist in keeping the house, please, email her.

This is the last I''ll be posting. I''ve done what I stated I would do. I doubt I''ll have more to contribute, but will if necessary.

Good luck everyone.
Leslie

[toldyouso21]

You are a good person with a good heart. To do a good deed, one does not qualify it by demanding that the person meet a criteria for deserving it, or not being a drug dealer, or having been smart enough to save or whatever--the criteria for a good deed is wanting to help--then do so and let go (and kudos to you for your approach) what that person does when you pass the "good deed or blessing onto them is between them and God or them and Karma or whatever is the arbiter of circumstance.

for being giving you will be blessed and all who scorned these people will eventually feel the sting of their own words coming back to bite them--life is way too short for ugly or snide remarks or attempts to derail hope--I think you show a lot of empathy and certainly, it is great to see--as for others--help if you want to--or don't if you are not moved to but the TMI--should really be kept off the blogs--even if true, what is it to you who helps them? It sounds like the evil flick of jealousy or worse, evil for evils sake. If they are not deserving, it will all balance out--but you don't do any one favors dogging them on a blog. Help someone --anyone near you--like I said, the world is full of hudys or people like them--help someone so that "karma" can assure that someday someone may be there to help you.

[coolbeans34]

Hey CoolBeans...

I called their house - left a message. Am certain they''''re being over run by crackpots.

Leslie,
What do you mean they''re being over run by crackpots? I guess it doesn''t really matter. I sent a check today and I hope it helps in some small way.
I''m hoping CBS really did their research on this one to make sure this story is on the up and up. If not they will certainly be hearing from me.

[grammawhamma]

makemyday2da: I agree with you. It is better to help locally because it is easier to weed out the scams from the legit. There are poor people in every community that need help.

[stefan49-2009]

coolbeans

I do not have problems with this, and there is no intend to slender anybody. I know what I know, just like nyrick, and it''s the truth! We all have problems, myself included, but I also share a little that I have with people that I know that need help and deserve it! Read things an make your move-anyway you wish!

[makemyday2da]

After reviewing the comments here, there''s some validity to both issues here. I''m inclined to think that before sending off your checks to help THIS family, you need to see who''s in your own community that may be even MORE desperate. I''d be much more inclined to help the Viet Nam vet who posted earlier. However, many of us are living paycheck to paycheck and barely getting by to help ourselves and own family. I''ve been working a full-time PLUS part-time job for nearly ten years now but there''s never enough to pay ALL the bills. My car is old and ugly but gets me around town when needed (I walk as much as possible). I''m a single mom with a teenager and my older son is an Iraq vet on SSA disability. He''s living in another state in order to connect with other vets in similar circumstances. However, we have learned we can''t sit on our rearends waiting for someone else to bail us out! I''m middle-aged and if I''m capable of working 55 - 60 hours per week, why can''t Ms. Hudy work at least 35 - 40? I truly feel their pain - but there are many other people who are trying even harder to survive - now living under bridges.

[libsluv2spit]

then it is time to ''trim the fat''..a small apartment..LESS food..they can make it.

the hardest part is trying to adjust from ''comfortable'' to ''spartan'' settings..

but suck it up..AND STOP WHINNING..

http://pasturescott.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/starving-child.jpg

[melcat2]

Why when you run a story don''t you run a place where you as CBS could set up a fund to help? I''m retired but would give $20 to $ 50 to help, We liberals an there are a lot of us out there, would help.
Vote Obama and with the change that comes maybe there
maybe will be far less families to help.

[onedndylyon]

Hey CoolBeans...

I called their house - left a message. Am certain they''re being over run by crackpots.

Local paper is researching to do the story, local tv station may or may not be - can''t get a clear answer, church isn''t "officially" involved - which I understand completely. And I don''t know what church she cleans, so can''t contact them. I didn''t recognize the interior from the shots they showed, so am of no use that way.

As soon as I know more, I''ll post it.

And, even if folks were able to assist in any substantial way, it would be temporary. I''m afraid they''ll need to look for an apartment. There are many in the area, so the money can be used toward that. I doubt they''ll be able to save the house.

But - you never know!

Leslie

[cdegolier]

I guess that insurance, the one thing no one thinks they need would have helped. In California you can''t have a license without insurance, I would never hire an unlicensed contractor. Why can''t the wife work full time. Maybe it is time to move out of over priced NY. Common sense can stop alot of these things from happening. The insurance would have been cheaper in the long run.

[jdubs63]

OMG CRY ME A RIVER... everyone is struggling one way or another

[coolbeans34]

Leslie,
Did you ever call the news station or the church today? Just wondered if they were formally looking for donations or able to help in any way. I checked online records in Broome County (mainly to get address verification) and I see where the house is being auctioned this Monday, 8/11. Not much time left.

[onedndylyon]

Stefan,

I''ll back off. No worries. There isn''t much left to say to either of you anyway.

I don''t know the Hudy''s. Never have. Probably never will.

But I do know the internet. And I know how easy it is for cowards to slam someone anonymously through the electronic medium.

I could call you a drunken pedophile, but it wouldn''t make it true. It might be, it might not be. There''s no way to verify it.

The local media are doing their own investigation to report the Hudy''s case. Talk to them. Talk to the cops. If what you say is true - he should be in jail. I know many of the cops in the area - I could introduce you to them if you''d like.

But last I knew, you''re innocent until proven guilty. And without even an arrest, it''s hard to put anything that has been said by 2 anonymous sources as anything other than rumor.

Leslie

[coolbeans34]

What''s your problem Stefan49? Why are you trying to slander these people so that no one wants to help them? Would you care to elaborate what they did to you, or why you think they are undeserving of help? Their house is in foreclosure and they''re getting handouts from the Food Bank. They appear to be in dire straits to me. Why do you think they shouldn''t be helped? Enlighten us, please.