When Victoria Newstead told her brother they鈥檝e been chosen as one of this year鈥檚 EHR) recipients, and that volunteers would be renovating their Brookswood home over a two-week period, his response was immediate and to the point.
鈥淣o way.鈥�
A very private person, he wasn鈥檛 keen on the idea of having strangers converging on his home, doing work on the exterior and interior leading up to the big reveal on Victoria Day.
It took a bit of time for 47-year-old Newstead to convince her sibling, who is three years her junior and wishes to remain anonymous, to move out of the home, which will allow the volunteers to do their work.
Newstead said her brother has a variety of challenges but still manages to work part time. With the home, she says he 鈥渄oes quite well there, he needs certainty, he needs to have some stability and (then) he can function.鈥�
Starting this Sunday, May 7, the mobile home where the siblings grew up will undergo a major transformation.
鈥淲hen you help someone who is already vulnerable and you keep it in the family, that鈥檚 a huge deal,鈥� Newstead said.
Pastor Mike Dauncey, who leads the EHR team, said these renovations come at a good time for the family. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than a mobile home for them, it鈥檚 a special place that鈥檚 been in the family for decades.鈥�
Work will include:
鈥� bathroom renovations;
鈥� new flooring put in throughout the home;
鈥� renovating the deck and putting a new covering over it;
鈥� fixing the mould issues, and;
鈥� installing four new windows to replace the mouldy ones.
This is the 14th year for EHR, a non-profit outreach organization run by the Aldergrove Adventist Church鈥檚 鈥淎cts of Kindness鈥� team (AOK).
Established in 2004, the Extreme Home Repair project annually transforms the home of a local individual or family facing difficult circumstances related to their housing and resources.
The project brings together over 200 volunteers, dozens of community-minded businesses, friends, family, and neighbours, to give the selected recipients a fresh start in a safe and comfortable environment.
In past years, most EHR recipients have been in Aldergrove; this year volunteers will focus on the home that Newstead鈥檚 brother has lived in his entire life.
Newstead said she is extremely thankful for the EHR team, adding that the program is held in high esteem in the community. 鈥淎s soon as I say Acts of Kindness and as soon as I mention the church, I鈥檇 say 50 per cent of people have heard of them before.鈥�
Both of the siblings鈥� parents are gone 鈥� their dad died 15 years ago in a dirt biking accident in the Baja Peninsula, and their mom passed away two years ago.
And, as the years went by, the home started to fall into some disrepair.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not actually that easy to find people to work on mobile homes, either,鈥� Newstead shared. 鈥淪o there had been some water damage from when the roof leaked. The roof stopped any water from coming in鈥� but whatever damage had been done just got worse over the years.鈥�
Mould is the biggest issue with the home. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not enough room that can be occupied, so there are a couple of rooms that are out of commission, really,鈥� Newstead said.
Newstead and her brother can thank her mom鈥檚 best friend, Madeleine Derappe, for nominating them for the 2017 EHR project.
鈥淲e still see her a couple times a week,鈥� Newstead said. 鈥淪he keeps tabs on us pretty good.鈥�
When she found out they had been chosen, Newstead was shocked. 鈥淚 literally read the message out loud on my phone and I said, 鈥極h my God, Madeleine has connected us with the church and they want to repair the house and my brother said, 鈥楴o way.鈥欌��
鈥淔or my brother, having people in my house, is a big deal,鈥� Newstead said. 鈥淚 waited a day-and-a-half and we had dinner and I said, 鈥楲ook, this is the situation.鈥� I explained it to him from the perspective of the other people in the park, who want the house (to be) nice, because it鈥檚 a very nice park.鈥�
Newstead said this is a 鈥渓ifetime home.鈥�
