It’s the home she was born and raised in. The same home her parents moved into after they got married in 1968. And it’s the home Betty has shared, once again, with her mom, Sarah, since 1982.
In all those years, some things have changed. Betty’s father passed away. Her mother’s health isn’t what it used to be.
And the back porch collapsed – not once, but twice.
A group had come out to rebuild their porch the first time it fell, a long time ago, back when Betty’s father was still living. But just months ago, that deck fell in on itself.
“I was in my room, and Mother was inside,” Betty said. “I heard this loud crashing sound, so I looked out the window and the porch had just fallen; it was just gone. Thank God no one was on it; that’s His protection – not once but twice!”
Because she knew they weren’t in a financial position to have the deck rebuilt, Betty had decided just to leave it alone. But after awhile, that option was taken away from her.
“The city sent me a letter to say that we had to rectify the damage [or face eviction],” she said. “But I’m always gone with my mother to the doctor, and everything is expensive right now. I don’t have the kind of money to go out and have these repairs done.”
The clock was ticking – the Grays only had so much time to make repairs before the city started the eviction process. And they didn’t have any options – or so they thought.
It was through a lady at Betty’s church, Angela Whitlock, that she found out about Home Repairs.
The Home Repairs team soon came out to assess the damage on the Grays’ home. And as often happens, what was thought to be a small project ended up uncovering a much larger problem.
“For what started out as a small deck project, we ended up removing carpet, repairing subflooring, installing LVP in a bedroom and a bathroom, repairing an electrical issue that had shut off all power to a bedroom, removing and replacing rotted exterior siding and a damaged rim band – and then finally building a new deck,” then Executive Director Mark Wolfe said.
There’s nothing Home Repairs loves more than fixing up both homes and hearts. And for Betty, Home Repairs is much more than a repair crew; they’re people she trusts.
“Mark would ask when we’d be home [to know when to come out for repairs], but if we needed to go somewhere, I’d leave them the house key. I trust those guys,” she said.
“I know God provides; He always does. And I’m very thankful and very blessed that Home Repairs did this for us.”
