INDIANAPOLIS — There’s an old saying about how neither snow, nor rain, nor heat or gloom of night can stop the United States Postal Service from getting you your mail.
You can’t prove that by 88-year-old Bonnie Marsh though, who lives on the northeast side in Indianapolis' Pleasant Hills neighborhood - not for almost the past month, anyway.
“We haven’t been getting it for a couple, three weeks now. I don’t know what’s happening. I got mail that should be coming. Important mail,” Marsh explained.
Important, because Marsh said she’s waiting on her blood pressure and thyroid medicine that comes in the mail, but she hasn’t seen a carrier in weeks and her medicine is almost gone.
“It’s not good to be out of that medicine,” she said.
Marsh can’t get her phone bill payment mailed either. It’s been sitting next to her mailbox for days. She doesn’t drive anymore, so the money won’t be getting to where it needs to go until a postal carrier picks it up.
“If we don’t get our bills in on time, then they charge you extra and it’s not our fault,” Marsh said.
The widow of three years isn’t the only one not getting her mail.
“You don’t know what mail you’re missing. You don’t know what mail’s coming, because you’re not getting any,” said Cheryl Humes-Kennedy, who lives just down the block from Marsh.
At first, Humes-Kennedy thought maybe she was the only one, until she asked several of her neighbors, like Marsh, and found they were all going through the same thing.
“What we’re curious about is where is our mail going, since we’re not getting it,” Humes-Kennedy asked.
Neighbors say they’ve called and visited the nearby McCoy Street U.S. Post Office branch, trying to get answers. 13News tried to do the same thing, but an employee ordered the reporter out of the building when she told them why she was there to ask why residents weren’t receiving their mail.
Finally, another employee offered up a number for the reporter to call.
The U.S. Postal Service sent a statement via email, which said:
“The Postal Service appreciates its customers and strives to provide the best possible service to them. Local management in Indianapolis is committed to making continuing improvements in delivery operations.
Customers are reminded if they need assistance with mailing, shipping, or delivery concerns, they have a variety of options for reaching us, including calling 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) or visiting our website at www.usps.com/help.
USPS is promoting hiring efforts with job fairs and regular job postings on the Postal Service website. Anyone interested in employment can visit www.usps.com/careers for information on available positions at various locations. We are looking to bolster our workforce with additional delivery personnel.”
For Bonnie Marsh, it comes down to this: She’s a homebound senior citizen and needs medicine to survive. In the past, she’s depended on a service that she doesn’t feel like she can depend on now.
“There has to be somebody that will come every day and bring the mail. We all need our mail,” said Marsh.