Habitat Young Professionals and the Women Build Club joined forced to start helping one of our Repair Program veteran jobs. They scrubbed walls, ripped up carpet, moved furniture and put a huge dent into cleaning the home of Terry, a Vietnam veteran who has suffered from PTSD and dementia. His home had fallen into disrepair due to his deteriorating healthy, and he wouldn't allow his family inside the home for 10 years.
When Terry was recently hospitalized to remove a brain tumor, his three daughters were able to get into the house. They were all shocked to see the condition of their childhood home and didn't know where to begin. There had been a range fire that, though didn't cause major damage to the home, there was soot all over the kitchen and front hall and a couple of the cabinets had been damaged. The home also needed a thorough cleaning and other issues need to be addressed, such as a gas leak and the need for a walk-in shower to be installed. The family reached out to us for assistance and were out on site lending a hand toward the project as well.
Dementia is not easy for the people in the life of a person who suffers from it. We're doing what we can to make the home warm, safe and dry so that Terry can return home, where his memories are. Once the home repairs and modifications are completed, he will be able to live there with home healthcare. There is a hope that his wife might be able to return to be with him. Night terrors due to the worsening of the PTSD as a result of the dementia caused her
to move out for her own safety some years ago.
We have some funding to help with the repairs, but we have to provide 2/3 matching funds or GIK services or products. If you want to help you can donate here: https://shrhabitat.charityproud.org/Donate/?cid=12015
If you would like to donate materials or labor, please email our Home Repair Program manager at: rainham.rowe@shrhabitat.org.