Help Lana and Her Daughter Find Stability

Lana Troup met Laura Smiley 71 years ago when we entered 7th grade at Allison Intermediate School in Wichita, Kansas. Me from Franklin Elementary about a block away, and she from Harry Street Elementary, a school I'd never heard of. Neighorhood youngsters who lived near her still keep up friendships with Lana from those early days, as we went clear up till past West High. She's always enjoyed visiting with everyone at West High reunions in the past 66 years since graduation.

Not only was Lana beautiful and good-natured, funny, kind and caring to others, smart and a fabulous dancer. We didn't keep in touch for a while after she and her husband moved to Califorinia and had two children, while my husband and I moved to Albuquerque N.M. for his first teaching job. It was years after we moved back to Wichita and were sitting at intermission in the Boulevard Theater when I heard someone several rows back say, "Laura Smiley, July 7" and that voice dropped into my heart immediately and has stayed there ever since. She was remembering my birthday, many years later.

Things are very different nowadays. My son has brought me to Fort Worth to live with him and his two teenagers, to be closer to visit my husband who has Alzheimer's disease.

We've shared a lifetime of memories and supporting each other through every challenge. Lana is a warm, caring person who keeps track of where people are, and how they're doing.

I have not kept up on everything about everyone's life, and very few of us have learned of the hardships Lana has faced in recent years. Her husband had Alzheimer's and was in a residence for a few years before he died, about five years ago. She has not gotten money from her husband's military service because the paperwork was lost in a fire where it was held.

I did not know Lana was diabetic until her daughter, who takes care of her, wrote me a letter that she was hospitalized at Wesley with sepsis and they had to remove a part of her foot and a toe. Lana had great difficulty in walking, but she has gotten better. Her only income is a very modest Social Security check. Her daughter, who cares for her, does not have a vehicle. But she has learned bus routes and schedules. So together, they rely on city buses for doctor appointments. The daughter has to go by bus to a grocery store, then get the groceries to their rooms by walking with them in a cart.

Recently, Lana and her daughter received an eviction notice and are being forced to leave the motel where they've lived for over a year. They now have to pay for each day's rent and urgently need to rent a truck to move their belongings. With nowhere else to go, they will have to seek shelter until they can find a more permanent and affordable small place to live. On top of these housing challenges, Lana still needs ongoing medical treatments and medications, and will face new rent and utility bills once they secure a new home.

Your support will help cover immediate moving costs, temporary shelter, and essential medical care for Lana. Every contribution will make a real difference in helping Lana and her daughter find stability and hope during this incredibly difficult time.