Danielle Dyer has a much easier time navigating her familyâs home now that the Rebuilding Together New Orleans team has completed much-needed renovation work.
âWe installed a wheelchair lift, fixed exterior HDLC violations, and renovated the bathroom to make it more accessible thanks to funding from the City of New Orleans â HOME Grant and Chevron,â RTNO Director Jon Svarka said.
RTNO Program Manager Catherine Crowell detailed the needed repairs before the work began in the April 2015 issue of Preservation in Print:
âMr. John Dyer is a 71-year-old retired, Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War. He shares his home with his sister, Ava, and her daughter, Danielle. John and Ava are the primary caregivers for Danielle, who is 30 years old and has cerebral palsy. She has been using a motorized wheelchair since she was a young child. RTNO was originally contacted regarding shoddy repairs contractors had completed a few years earlier after Hurricane Katrina wreaked extensive damage to the home. Not only did the roof continue to leak after repairs were completed, but a ramp the contractors constructed resembled more of a hazardous slide rather than a safe wheelchair ramp.â
âOver the years, RTNO and its parent organization, the Preservation Resource Center, have grown to fit the needs of the city. RTNOâs model has changed from an annual build day into a year-round effort focused on disaster recovery, and now is currently focused on the need to complete critical repairs to keep homeowners and their families in their beloved homes and neighborhoods. With support from sponsors like Chevron, RTNO will continue to meet the growing need for critical home repairs and give families like the Dyers the security of knowing their home is safe again.â
Check out the photo gallery of before and after pictures of the Dyer family renovation project.
