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Community Corner

Two Days of Volunteering For Veterans

Amy Lockerbie Smith of Swampscott tells us about the Habitat P.L.U.S. Veterans Home, 516 — 520 Essex St., in Lynn, and the work that she and other volunteers did on Sept. 14 and 15. The Habitat project is led by Swampscott's Patrick Burke.

 

Recently, quite by accident, I stumbled on an Internet request from Patrick Burke and Dave Reese asking for volunteers to help with some repair work of veterans' property in Lynn. 

Carpentry tools aren’t my forte, but I could manage a broom and paint brush so I signed up for Friday. The day dawned bright and sunny, which was a good start; however, this work would have taken place rain or shine. 

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When I arrived at 8:00 o’clock, men were already busy sawing and hammering away rebuilding the deck and stairway on one of the buildings.  Soon I had the pleasure of meeting Patrick Burke, who heads the GE Veterans Council and has been helping the Habitat Plus Inc. Veterans Program for about four years, ever since he found the home while jogging by on a lunch break. 

Patrick has deep family ties to the military and is a senior master sergeant in the US Air Force Reserves. He has been to the Middle East on two deployments since we were attacked on September 11th.  Dave Reese is an USAF veteran, a Lynn GE Veterans Council Officer and all round good guy, willing to give of his time and energy to help others. 

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Dave, with many GE volunteers, and Todd Protz, with his Cornerstone Construction crew, were hard at work before most volunteers arrived. They were rebuilding the entire deck and re-configuring the stairs at the 516 Essex Street home. 

GE had donated about $3,600 and with another anonymous donation of about $6,000, made these large projects possible. Susan Campbell, is the Executive Director and Bernadette Forti, is the Founder/Director of the Habitat Plus Inc. Veterans Program.   

I had an opportunity to talk to these young women and learn the passion they have for this project. They are social workers and partners in this worthy venture who years ago became frustrated with what they saw concerning the care of our veterans. 

Well meaning though things were, their care wasn’t working the way it should.  These retired veterans were placed with families in private homes, which seemed like a good idea, however, try as they might, the hosts just couldn’t make it work as the veterans never really felt part of the family. 

They were odd man out.  Susan and Bernadette saw this in their daily work and searched for a solution.  Finally, their answer was to buy a house; an old house and turn it into a home for needy veterans. 

In order to acquire the property, Susan and Bernadette used their own money for the initial investment.  The first home was 520 Essex St. in Lynn and eventually they were able to buy the house next door at 516 Essex St. 

They now house fourteen gentlemen.  The oldest resident is Frank who served in the Korean War and has lived in this home for 24 years.  Frank is 82 years old. 

These veterans are dealing with psychological issues.  This is a sober house; there are no alcoholic or drug problems, no sex offenders live here, no violence has been ascribed to any of these men; it is a safe house. 

Things have worked out very well indeed.  Each veteran has his own room, which he must keep tidy and make his bed daily.  They must dress and shave every day.  

Due to their health issues, it is very important that their medications are watched carefully. These are really very nice homes with two live-in staff and one-maintenance staff person. 

Kevin Winchell has been the Program Manager for 16 years supervising the entire staff.  Additionally, he makes sure of proper food prep and he is always on top of the medication situation; a modest man who didn’t want to elaborate on his duties.  

Robby Pursell is the live-in maintence man; he not only cleans the house at 516 Essex six days a week, he also makes general repairs to just about anything that breaks down, plus he handles landscaping, grass cutting . . . you name it. 

The other live-in staff is, Mike Arroyo, who is the evening house manager.  Mike cooks supper and is basically in charge of everyday living skills.  The men living here are a friendly group of veterans who enjoy the home-cooked meals served family style. 

There were so many delightful people working on this weekend project; it was a pleasure for me to be a part of the experience.  It was at this point I met Marie Poretta.  Marie is another gal who doesn’t hesitate to invest her own money to help these retired veterans. 

Not only does she work at the site, but she designs T-shirts and sells loads of them at GE and any other place she can.  She has raised lots of $$$ over the years for the benefit of this project.  $10,000 was a figure I heard bounced around for about one year’s sales. 

How’s that for T-shirt sales?  Three cheers, for Marie! The chore I fell into, very happily, was gardening.   Most of the grounds had been carefully and lovingly tended.  However, during my day of volunteering there was a patch which had been neglected only because there simply weren’t enough hands to do all the necessary work. 

I paired up with a delightful young lady named Tina Bizios, another GE volunteer.  We went to work on this sorry piece of land; digging, pulling and digging and pulling; until we could finally plant some ground cover.   

A break for lunch came, which by the way was delicious, consisting of a very generous serving of homemade lasagna, huge meatballs, sausage, and big garden salad; all kinds of soft drinks and we dined on picnic benches sitting directly on the sidewalk so we were able to eat in a nice shaded spot.  

In addition to the many GE folks, there were professionals who volunteered their time and expertise to help not only beautify these properties, but also to make them functional against environmental problems.  For example, as well as Cornerstone Construction working on the deck and stairs, Shawn McLaughlin of McLaughlin Masonry had his people repair a wall beside the driveway and along the sidewalk. 

He also had his men fix small holes in the foundation where mice or other small creatures might be able to gain access to the cellar.  There was no doubt more extensive work done by the Mclaughlin group, but I actually watched these repairs take place. 

Another generous donation came in the form of a much needed shed from Post Woodworking of Danville, New Hampshire, which will replace a rather well-used plastic container now holding trash barrels.  The new shed will also be able to hold tools and be another big improvement to the looks of the property. 

Last year, GE Veterans Council member, Richard Banks, bought a flag pole with his own money.   Another GE Veterans Council member, Jeff Snyder, ground a four-foot hole in the earth in order to install this huge flag pole.  This operation was done in the pouring rain. 

A muddy mess is probably an understatement to describe Mr. Snyder’s condition when he finished digging that hole.  Today, our American flag flies proudly on this flag pole between the two veterans' buildings as a constant reminder of what these brave men fought for years ago. 

The remarkable thing I found about this whole experience was the people.  Everyone was so nice, helpful and happy.  There were many very young people pitching in with their time and energy digging, sawing, hammering; doing anything asked of them, and with good grace. 

It was a wonderful experience with wonderful people.  I enjoyed my day of labor so much I decided to come back on Saturday. With the help of a nice young man named Steve, Saturday began with more digging, pulling, and digging and pulling of dead roots, before we were able to plant hostas on the other side of the front yard.

Next spring these plants will fill in nicely and vastly improve the appearance of this little yard.  Pizza, pizza and more pizza, plus lots of chicken wings suddenly appeared for lunch along with plenty of nice cold soft drinks and then on to the afternoon work. 

I never was able to learn Steve’s last name, but I saw him hard at work right along with the carpenters Saturday afternoon repairing and replacing siding on the house at 516 Essex.  Finishing the stairs with lattice was a really nice touch done in the afternoon as the new siding was replaced on the front of the house. 

Things really did look good now and then the finishing touch; a coat of paint.  Then a few limbs that were rubbing against the house were chopped down . . .  And for me, a little painting finished the day.

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