Rose’s story is featured in our fall fundraising campaign this year, which focuses on raising funds for our home repair program. We’ll share more about their family in the fall edition of our print newsletter (due out in October), but we also want to highlight Rose’s experience with our home repair crew!
Rose is a certified nursing assistant (CNA) who lives with her 15-year-old daughter, Adrianna, in the house where Rose grew up and which her mom, Geraldine, occupied for more than a half-century. Rose describes her job as “very rewarding. I really like elderly people, I think because my mom was 41 when I was born, and my dad was in his 50s.”
The family originally applied to the Pikes Peak Habitat home repair program because Geraldine – who lived alone at the time – needed some health and safety upgrades, including windows that locked and accessibility features for her wheelchair.
Tragically, Geraldine passed away unexpectedly soon after the repair crew began work. “Sometimes, even though your parents get older, you just think they’re going to live forever,” says Rose.
The crew didn’t want to leave the place in poor condition – they had already torn up floors and taken out cabinets – but because Geraldine didn’t have a will, the house’s fate was uncertain. Eventually, Rose learned she would be able to purchase the home – and because she also qualified under the repair program’s income guidelines, the crew was able to return and finish the job.
They modified the original scope of work, eliminating features that aren’t necessary for Rose and Adrianna, such as wider doorways for a wheelchair and grab bars in the shower. They replaced most of the windows, as well as the flooring in the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway. They also renovated the bathroom.
When the repair project first started, Rose wanted to replace her mom’s kitchen cabinets, and she found a used set she liked online. When she met the seller, she was pleasantly surprised. “She gave them to me for almost nothing, because I told her my mom’s story,” she explains.
And there was another connection. The seller “would have donated them to Habitat [ReStore] but didn’t have a vehicle large enough!” says Rose. “So she just asked for them to be picked up and for after pictures.”
Rose put in sweat equity on the repairs. Initially she felt intimidated, but that quickly changed to a sense of empowerment.
“They’ve been great, and the best part has been Phil” Larish, repair supervisor, she says. “Phil was like part of our family for so long. He would come over and always encourage my son when he was here. He was the most patient person I’ve ever met. He taught me how to do the floor; he taught me how to do everything.”
Her 19-year-old son, Kevyn, is a Marine stationed nearby. He sometimes came to help with the repairs, and he connected with several of the volunteers who are also veterans, including Larish. “There was a gentleman that was a Marine, and when my son was going to go to California, he brought him a Marine hat and a Marine cup,” she says. After her son returned from training, “he told him, ‘I’m proud of you. You’re doing a really good thing with your life.’ And that made my son feel really good.”
The repair crew became like family, Rose says. She remembers Phil’s wife bringing cake to the home on his birthday and even helping out on a day when they were short-handed.
“Everyone went out of their way to make us feel very comfortable during the entire process and be so encouraging,” she says.
Phil “was just so patient, and he would tell me, ‘You can do this; just make sure that you do it this way,’ and he would explain the whole process, things he was doing,” she says. She painted the kitchen ceiling herself, “and it just really felt great to be a part of the team!”
She plans to continue using the skills she learned. She’ll help her brother replace the flooring in the living room. “Everything costs so much money, and I want to continue on with doing some renovations, but I don’t have a ton of money to pay someone else to do it,” says Rose. With her newfound skills, though, “I think I’m going to be able to do all the things that I want to do eventually!”
Rose was so pleased with the process that she left the Pikes Peak Habitat home repair sign in her yard. “I think a lot of times people don’t know about these resources, especially older people like my mom,” she says. “I want other people to be able to get help if they need it!”
