Most days, you can find Mary Hartshorne outside her home working in a garden. It’s a release for her to spend time tending to these plants.

“Tomatoes. I have peas, beans,” said Hartshorne, describing what she is growing.

She has been living her at this Malta apartment for the last two years after selling her house on Mariaville Lake, a move Hartshorne was forced to make after losing her pension.

“It makes a difference for me. It makes me feel a little better,” Hartshorne said. “Feel like I’m kind of back at the lake when I have the plants and everything because I miss it a lot.”

Hartshorne knows many of her pensioners feel the same way. For 30 years, she worked at St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady, but three years ago, Hartshorne and more than 1,100 former St. Clare’s employees were told their pension fund had run out of money.

“This was the one that was almost $900 a month,” said Hartshorne, pointing to her pension. “That was my payment and that was my mortgage so once that was gone, that was the end of that.”

The retirees either lost some or all of their pension. St. Clare’s closed in 2008 and was taken over by Ellis Medicine, a move mandated by the state’s Berger Commission. Hartshorne has been working to find out what happened and how to get the pension restored.

“Do people realize how much we’re dying, how much we’re suffering,” said Hartshorne, who is chair of the St. Clare’s Pensioners Recovery. “We’re hemorrhaging now because it’s been three years, and fold into that a pandemic.”

However, with a new governor, there's more optimism.

Recently, Hartshorne, along with state Senator Jim Tedisco and Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, wrote a letter to Gov. Hochul requesting a meeting to discuss this matter. They want the governor to listen to these retirees and work with them to find a solution.

“She talks about transparency, and we’re just asking for some transparency and understanding,” Tedisco said.

“Give them the time and consideration they deserve,” Santabarbara said. “Give them the time and consideration our former governor never did.”

Hartshorne says she has received a phone call from the Governor’s staff acknowledging receiving the letter and requested some information. In a statement, a spokesperson for the governor says she will review this letter and will determine the next step.

Hartshorne sees this as a positive sign.

“Maybe the governor can give us some guidance,” she said. “That’s what I’m asking for, and she sounds like she might be willing to listen.”

A state attorney general investigation into the pension collapse remains on-going. Hartshorne and the pensioners have filed a lawsuit against the Albany Catholic Diocese, St. Clare’s Corporation and other parties accountable.

At this point, Hartshorne says she has nothing to lose and what motivates her to keep going is her fellow pensioners.

“People are always around you,” Hartshorne said. “They’re always there available for you and it’s just a great feeling to have that kind of support. They’re wonderful people and I can’t think of anybody better to fight for.”