RED HOOK, N.Y. â Jack was a self-employed businessman who made a good living working with his hands. But in 2013, that all changed for the woodworker when he developed a condition that left him unable to use his hands and forced him to give up the trade that he loved. "I had a little bit of savings, so I was able to string out a couple of years of being able to make it," the 61-year-old Pine Plains resident said. - Advertisement - As that money began to run out, Jack (not his real name) said he found himself in a position he never would have imagined: looking for assistance through county agencies.