Ms. Rachel (center) on move-in day to her new home, with GHC staff members Josie (left) and Brett (right) at her side.
Meet Ms. Rachel
A young soul with a sense of adventure, she radiates positivity and is generous with her laughter. She has lived in Greensboro for nearly 60 years and, despite a lengthy list of past travels, she wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Her longtime friends live here. Her church is here. The community here is friendly and familiar. This is Ms. Rachel’s home.
In April of 2018, a devastating tornado swept through East Greensboro. Looking through her front doorway, Ms. Rachel saw the destruction unfold.
“I saw everyone’s possessions blowing up and out. I felt my life pass by and I asked God ‘am I going to survive this?'” she remembers.
It was over in minutes, but evidence of the tornado’s passing was everywhere. The house Ms. Rachel had been renting for nearly 20 years was left with a hole in the ceiling where rain came pouring in. Beyond that, a cockroach infestation had taken hold of the home and there were complications with the electricity. Moreover, the house wasn’t wheelchair-friendly to begin with and Ms. Rachel, a leg amputee, uses a wheelchair to get around. Things didn’t look good.
Shortly after the tornado, on a day with heavy rain, the landlord decided that he wanted Ms. Rachel out immediately. He had all of Ms. Rachel’s belongings – everything she owned – taken out of the home. They were piled in the backyard (seen in the photo to the left, behind the house), becoming drenched in the rain. She had nowhere to go. Not one to complain, Ms. Rachel remained positive throughout these hardships.
“My heart is not big enough to hold stuff like that. I need room in there for gratefulness and hope, so I push the negative aside,” she says.
Just before our office closed that rainy evening, a neighbor gave Greensboro Housing Coalition a call. As the first-responder in times of housing crisis, GHC staff quickly arrived at Ms. Rachel’s home.
GHC jumped into action. Over the next month, we:
- Talked to Ms. Rachel’s landlord about a solution; none could be found
- Called on our friends at the Salvation Army to get Ms. Rachel a hotel voucher, which they generously provided
- Called a taxi and brought Ms. Rachel to the hotel where she would stay for the next three weeks
- Ensured her hotel voucher was renewed weekly
- Frequently took Ms. Rachel out to lunch while she stayed in her kitchen-less hotel room
- Located an affordable, fully ADA-compliant home owned by our friends at Partnership Homes
- Coordinated the rental agreement paperwork and drove Ms. Rachel to sign the documents
- Coordinated a furniture referral with the Barnabas Network, which provides basic home furnishings at no cost to qualified families and individuals
- Went with Ms. Rachel to pick out her furniture, then moved the furniture into her new home
- Purchased a new bed and linens
- Gifted a donated motorized wheelchair (seen in the photo to the upper right)
- Gifted an additional furniture donation from friends at the 107.5 KZL radio station
“When the apartment was ready to move in, it was like church,” says Ms. Rachel, reminiscing about that happy day when she and GHC staff got to officially move her into the house. “We laughed, cried, prayed – it was like a homecoming!”
Ms. Rachel is now settled into her new home, where she is able to maneuver her wheelchair easily and live comfortably.
“My favorite thing is that it’s handicap accessible. I don’t struggle to get out of the house, out of the bathtub, out of bed. I can get where I need to be,” she says.
Ms. Rachel is always happy to welcome people over for good conversation, so her friends here at GHC continue to visit her in her new home.
At Greensboro Housing Coalition, we are here for our community members, like Ms. Rachel, in times of housing crisis. You can help ensure that all of our neighbors have a safe place to call home by making a gift to Greensboro Housing Coalition today.
We don’t know what 2019 will bring. We do know that, with your support, Greensboro Housing Coalition will continue advocating for our community’s right to fair, healthy, affordable housing.
Click here to donate to Greensboro Housing Coalition today.
Your contribution will empower local families to live in homes where they can thrive.