Dale London
Mr. London, a 67-year-old grandparent, thought he was done raising kids. Yet, three years ago he gained custody of his grandson, C.J. Becoming the caretaker of a young child as a senior on fixed income takes strength and patience, and thankfully, Mr. London has both.
In March of 2025, Mr. London visited TJC for the first time. He wanted to access the safety net programs that he understood were available to support his family. During several visits to TJC, Mr. London and TJC staff worked diligently to connect Mr. London and his family to TennCare, SNAP, and WIC. During those lengthy meetings as caseworkers navigated copious amounts of policy and paperwork, C.J. used his sweet smile to endear the staff to him. The team began to look forward to their visits and welcomed the work interruptions from a cute five-year-old. This family's time with TJC staff even included a visit to the grocery store to make sure Mr. London and his wife knew how to use WIC benefits.
Despite being on fixed income, Mr. London realized quickly that even with the support of SNAP and WIC to help cover the monthly cost of groceries, the ends didn’t meet. He got a job as a dishwasher in a popular Nashville restaurant. However, his age and years of manual labor combined with a recent surgery to both elbows and wrists meant his work washing dishes was painful. He kept at it anyways. With Mr. London and his wife back at work, their household income increased, and they became ineligible for SNAP benefits. Additionally, C.J. turned five, which also made him ineligible for WIC.
As grocery prices continue to rise, losing SNAP and WIC benefits for this family made putting food on the table very difficult. Fortunately, C.J. has now started kindergarten and has access to school meals.
Taking on new work and responsibilities as a grandparent caregiver was challenging. Mr. London laughed as he said, “everything changed when C.J. arrived… now I have to worry about shots, picking him up from school, and cooking dinner.” Last week, C.J. had pink eye, and Mr. London said he was terrified that C.J. had some kind of disease. “I didn’t know what pink eye was.” They visited a doctor who prescribed some medicine for C.J.’s eye and told him not to worry. Without TennCare, treating something as simple as pink eye could be prohibitively expensive when it requires an office visit and medicine from a pharmacy. Thanks to TJC, Mr. London didn’t have to worry about that.
Mr. London or as C.J. calls him, Grandaddy, comes to TJC every time he has a question, but often, he comes by even when he doesn’t. Mr. London and C.J. are routine visitors, and their presence lifts the spirits of the TJC staff while reminding us of the reasons we do this work: to ensure grandfathers like Mr. London have the tools to raise grandsons like C.J.
When asked about being C.J.’s primary caregiver and the rewards and challenges it creates, Mr. London said, “you know God can send angels in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and mine was sent as C.J.”
Mr. London’s story illustrates that while the safety net programs are unable to meet every need, SNAP, WIC, and TennCare together help families like this one.
The Tennessee Justice Center is honored to recognize Dale London as a 2026 Caregiver of the Year.
Photo by Reed Hamblen
Published in 2026
