Millstone businessman offers support to Point Pleasant family.
By: Scott Morgan
MILLSTONE In many ways, the story of Denis and Patricia Polen is a familiar one. A husband and wife with two kids who were doing just fine until a bit of misfortune came along and landed them in a one-room motel and one step away from the streets.
But one township businessman decided that this all-too-familiar story needs a better ending. After hearing of the Polens’ plight, Peter Grandich, co-founder of Trinity Financial, Sports & Entertainment Management Co. on Sweetmans Lane, started making calls to a few business associates in an attempt to get the family some help.
"It’s been on my mind a lot lately," Mr. Grandich said, "(that) people are falling through the cracks."
And if you can’t help the whole world, he added, you can at least help in your corner of it.
"If everybody helped one other person, a lot of people would be getting help," he said.
A lot of people have decided to help the Polens, financially and spiritually. So far, Mr. Grandich, through an attorney who has set up an escrow account, has received over $1,100 in pledges to help the Polens get their own apartment.
Right now, the Polens live in a single room at Point Pleasant’s Harbor Lights Resorts motel, paying $740 a month in rent. That is, until May when the family will have to leave the winter rental. Add to that the necessity of treating Mrs. Polen’s diabetes (another $183 per doctor visit, since she won’t have insurance for another two months), the food bills, car bills and frequent trips to the doctor for her 7-year-old son Aaron, who lives with a chronic winter cough, and "that kind of adds up," Mrs. Polen said.
Plus, as Mr. Polen works for the Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse in Dover (making a little less than $2,000 a month) and gets $180 from his National Guard position, the Polens do not qualify for welfare aid.
Mrs. Polen said that besides the money, there is the question of space of which there is not much.
"We’re like sardines in a can," she said. "We need at least two or three bedrooms."
The money being raised through Mr. Grandich and his associates is earmarked for this cause. Any money raised, Mr. Grandich said, is to be put in an account, which eventually will be made payable directly to a landlord for the first month’s rent, plus security.
But rent money is not the only help. As Mr. Grandich’s firm deals with the financial health of professional athletes, it is no surprise to learn that sports has entered the proverbial ring.
Mr. Grandich said that in addition to straight financial support, the Polen family will be getting a few tokens of esteem from the world of sports. Jeff Rodman, a managing partner for the Atlantic City Surf minor league baseball team has announced his club will provide the Polens with four tickets to a game this season and have Aaron throw out the game’s first pitch.
In addition, the Polens will meet at least two (and maybe three) former National Football League stars. New York Jets defensive legend Joe Klecko and New York Giants running back Keith Elias have confirmed they will meet the Polens at the Ocean Queen Diner in Point Pleasant this week when the family will be granted its assistance. New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet also may come to the Ocean Queen.
The athletes have pledged monetary assistance and a visit to both the family and local social organizations in Monmouth and Ocean counties to thank these agencies for their help.
Mr. Elias, a devout Christian, said he was moved to help the Polens by God both because he could and because he should.
"Jesus said the best thing to do on this Earth is help other people," Mr. Elias said. And, paraphrasing the Bible, he added, "It’s great to pray for people, but if they’re hungry, give them something to eat. If they need shelter, give them someplace to live. Sometimes you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is."
In addition to help from the sports world, the Clarksburg Inn on Stagecoach Road has donated a dinner for four to the Polens to be used whenever they want it.
Do not, however, get the wrong idea. This is no pity story. And the Polens are no charity case.
Mrs. Polen said the outpouring of support, though surprising and delightful, is sometimes a little more than needed at any one time. Despite that her family is in a tight spot (she not working to ensure the safety of her children and Mr. Polen is facing a call to active duty), Mrs. Polen said she often gives the extras from donations received to other families at the motel who are in a similar, or sometimes worse, spot.
"If there are enough donations, why not give them to other people?" Mrs. Polen said. "I feel I’d like to give something back to the community."
What Mrs. Polen also wants to give is a sense of hope. As a result of her situation, where having to "deal with it" is the major course for survival, Mrs. Polen has drafted a petition she hopes to take to the governor’s office. This petition, she said, is aimed at putting affordable housing first on the governor’s most-important list.
"Affordable housing needs to be the number one for the governor’s administration," she said. "Maybe we can change something."
For a petition to get to the governor’s office, it must contain at least 10,000 signatures. So far, Mrs. Polen has collected about 100, being limited in her appeals by the winter weather and the need to be home for her children.
For right now, Mrs. Polen said she will continue her efforts to raise signatures, but mostly will remain devoted to keeping her family’s spirits up.
"I’m no good to my kids if I’m a basket case," she said.
But judging by her new-found resourcefulness ("I’ve learned to cook a lot in the microwave," her only cooking appliance) and her newly stiffened upper lip, she might not be falling to pieces any time soon.
"We just live each day to its fullest," she said of her family’s efforts to keep moving. "And try to keep some hope."
Anyone interested in offering help may contact Peter Grandich at (732) 642-3992.

