Dr. William “Tony” Rhodes and Margaret Hogan have been longtime supporters of HAC, understanding the importance a home can have on one’s health.
Though he was never homeless, there was a time during Dr. William “Tony” Rhodes’ childhood when he experienced what it meant to be poor.
“I lived in pretty low-income housing because my parents had gotten divorced,” he said. “It was just survival and there wasn’t any money for anything frivolous. You were lucky to get a new shirt or something like that every once in a while. It gave me an appreciation that you can have the best world and all of the sudden” it can change.
That lesson has stayed with Dr. Rhodes, who has lived in Brewster with his wife Margaret Hogan for nearly 33 years. Because of his experiences as a child, the couple have supported HAC’s work for nearly a decade.
The pair were introduced to the agency through Dr. Rhodes’ practice, Brewster Medical Associates, which served some patients who happened to be clients of HAC.
Though the pair are now retired – Margaret worked as a nurse with her husband before assuming the role of a full-time grandmother – they are still committed to helping those in need as HAC donors.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be successful in my life and I think we owe society a debt to help folks who can’t help themselves or just to help folks who are not as fortunate,” Dr. Rhodes said.
Margaret agreed, saying there is a reward one gets from giving to agencies like HAC which are focused on making an impact at the local level. “When you do something like get involved with your agency, you feel like you’re benefitting people you might know,” she said.
For Dr. Rhodes, who served as a police officer before he pursued a career in medicine, there was a parallel between his work and the services HAC provides – it is all about helping others. “You were dealing with people,” he said. “The skills I learned as a police officer in seeing problems, as a doctor now I could do things about those problems… I put 32 years into doing that, but it was worth every minute.”
|
Why We Give: Margaret Hogan and Tony Rhodes With their medical backgrounds, Dr. William “Tony” Rhodes and Margaret Hogan know the importance housing has on one’s health and well-being. “What helps is stabilizing someone’s living situation so they have an incentive to take care of themselves,” said Dr. Rhodes. “That is where Housing Assistance Corporation comes in. It doesn’t have to be all people who are homeless. It can be people who get depressed or anxious or whatever. Because their situation is out of control, I think what HAC does is stabilize their environment so at least they can get their hands on the edge of the pool.” With programs that include operating four family shelters, preventing families and individuals from becoming homeless, conducting energy audits on low-income households to reduce their utility costs, and conducting workshops to enable first-time homebuyers to purchase a home on Cape Cod, HAC supports those of all income levels in our region. When asked which of these programs is most vital to the region, Dr. Rhodes said, “there is a role for everything you do… from people who are homeless to families trying to get into housing at a lower rent, these are all things that are so important.” |
