A maintained home gave Phoebe’s parents a sense of pride. But like many homeowners, as they aged, physical limitations prevented them from repairing their home as they had been.
Each time Phoebe visited her parents, she could see their home falling into disrepair.
“They’ve had this house for 14 years,” Phoebe explained. “When my parents first bought the house, they were so much younger and able to maintain the house. They pretty much did everything themselves, whether they were [repairing] the bathroom or [maintaining] the lawn.”
But three years ago, both of her parents were diagnosed with diseases that limited their ability to care for their home as they once had.
“My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and then my mom with borderline dementia. They progressively weren’t able to do things they usually would be able to do,” she shared. “Climbing a ladder seems like a simple task, but for a person with Parkinson’s, it not only becomes tricky, it also becomes a safety issue.”
Until recently obtaining her permanent resident visa, Phoebe had been living for half the year in the Philippines and spending the other half of the year with her aging parents. When she was in town, her parents’ care and medical appointments dominated her time, keeping her from tackling any repairs.
“The gutters became clogged, and with improper drainage comes the rotting of wood. Because the soffit and fascia were constantly soaked with water, the wood began to split,” she explained.
Phoebe also noticed rotted trim and siding on the home’s exterior, as well as rot in the trim around the doorframes on both the front and the back door. Before the damage became any worse, she reached out to a business for a quote on cleaning the gutters and repairing the exterior but realized the cost was outside her parents’ means.
The workers’ visit only solidified Phoebe’s fears when they explained that the soffit and fascia were at risk of falling off the house.
“I kept thinking and asking God, ‘How am I going to have that repaired?’” Phoebe said.
In a last-ditch effort, she decided to Google “free home repairs” and found Home Repairs Ministries.
A few months after an initial inspection and multiple weather delays, the team came by to repair the rotting exterior, replace parts of the fascia and caulk and seal the exterior to prevent water inside the home.
What struck Phoebe was the way Home Repairs Project Manager Kyle Van Nus and the volunteers treated her and her parents.
“[Kyle] listened well. He was compassionate, and he explained thoroughly how they could help,” she said. “[Because of my mother’s borderline dementia], she can repeat things, but he was super thoughtful. He and the volunteers weren’t impatient with repeated questions.
“They’re a compassionate group of people who are empathetic to people’s needs and are willing to help out as much as they can.”
Because of these repairs, a weight has been lifted from Phoebe’s shoulders.
“[These repairs] have taken away the anxiety I felt every time it would rain,” she shared. “It’s also improved the curbside appeal of the house and gives a little bit more respect to the house and to the people living in it.
You can make a difference for homeowners like Phoebe’s parents — give today to provide a safe home for a neighbor in need!
