Ginette An East Village Elderly Woman Needing Help

I'm Dan Efram, a resident of the East Village for nearly 30 years, activist and photojournalist, raising funds for my neighbor Ginette Schenck. (UPDATE: Thanks to EVGrieve and the East Village Community for rallying to help! We need people that can build for possibly NEXT Week. Please contact me [email redacted] if you have tools and are a handyperson. More updates at the very bottom.)

Ginette's health and apartment have seen better days. Funds raised will go toward a deep cleaning (of the apartment), apartment replacement items, new clothing, bedding, towels, etc... which will allow her to heal in a more clean and less germ-friendly environment.

Her health has taken a huge dip in the last couple of months, certainly in no small part due to her horrendous living quarters. It needs a DEEP clean asap and she will need new everything (clothing, bedding, paint etc) to survive.

She has been bedridden for months and needs daily help. Her numerous ailments including painful shingles, neuropathy made worse undoubtedly by her filthy, vermin-ridden studio apartment.

Though we have been able to get her some aid through the city, she needs much more and any progress seems destined to be stymied by bad fortune and a lack of family nearby to help her make decisions and an uncaring slumlord who seemingly will people happy when she dies having no interest in doing his legal duties.

So far I’ve gotten in touch with her local reps with not much success. But it’s difficult to know what is happening as I am not family so not privy to private info unless Ginette remembers to tell me.

For her part, Ginette is with it most of the time when rested and fed but sometimes suffers from bouts of unclear thinking which is not unusual in her situation when under stress or where lacking sleep or nourishment. She had an excellent sense of humor and awareness - most of the time she was still sharp.

Single elderly people are disregarded in this country; treated as garbage. We must do better to bring attention to this huge issue and help them. As for Ginette, I am not hopeful that she will ever get the care she needs, though I am trying to do all I can to help improve her current living situation. With immediate, consistent treatment and care, I’m confident she could have several less painful, potentially enjoyable years left.

The way she has been left to die on her own, trying to navigate a healthcare system designed to punish those without extreme financial affluence, family or regular guidance is a tragedy. Her living conditions are no different than some other third-world countries. This should not be happening in the East Village, nor anywhere in America.

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Please Note: Ginette does have a caring social worker now, who in the past few days has helped quite a bit! A cleaning crew came in to do a deep clean of her apartment; we are figuring out how to best upgrade this living situation so that she can live there without fear of hurting herself; there are lots of repairs that need to be quickly made; offers of help are appreciated. Due to the success of this campaign, I could use some legal advice. If you know of a lawyer that may understand crowdfunding campaigns and how to best handle their implications, this would be graciously appreciated.