Ms. S – A Faith Community Comes Together

Tragedy, hardship, and uncertainty can strike unexpectedly, often due to circumstances we can’t control. Rebuild Upstate homeowner Ms. S faced uncertainty in home and health this Christmas. 

Ms. S is a hard-working, devoted mother who has lived in her home for 30 years. Neighbored by parents to the right and cousins to the left, family has always been important to Ms. S. Her favorite memories in her home (her “happy place”) are the Christmases spent with her daughter, Kasey. On any given day you can find this Piedmont native welcoming friends into her living room or watching “Days of Our Lives” as she rests from health treatments. 

This year, Ms. S was diagnosed with cancer. Before her diagnosis, Ms. S regularly set aside money for specific repairs needed on her home. She planned to fix several issues that made her home unsafe. But the discovery of cancer required a sudden shift in financial management. Ms. S prioritized treatment but didn’t give up searching for a home repair solution. She did not want to fight cancer in an unsafe home. 

A long-time leak in the roof was causing mold, and her porch was rotting. Ms. S worried she or someone else would get hurt. She searched for someone to help her but said as a single woman, it was hard to find someone she trusted to fix her home. She was worried the repairs would never happen. 

Then she reached out to Rebuild Upstate.

Ms. S was matched with not just any volunteers, but with members of her own church community. Youth and adult volunteers from Bethesda United Methodist Church were participating in the annual Santahatchie service mission camp. The volunteer crew spent the days after Christmas entirely replacing Mrs. S’s roof and installing new decking. Ms. S was very impressed by the skillful youth group, particularly the fearless female volunteers who replaced the roof. 

Ms. S can now face whatever comes next in a safe and dry home. A home she says looks brand new.  Ms. S also looks forward to being cancer-free. Once the weather warms up, she will decorate her porch and enjoy sitting outside- her favorite place to be. To the volunteers, Ms. S says, “This was the best Christmas that I have ever had and I will never forget what you did.” 

In the face of life’s uncertainties, Rebuild Upstate is committed to rebuilding homes, community, and dignity. 

 

To learn more about volunteering, click here. To donate and support home repairs for a homeowner like Ms. S, click here.