Shirletha's Story: Breathing Better at Home

Our neighbor Shirletha has lived in her Charlotte home for the past 18 years. For almost two decades, she’s been a familiar face in the local community, bringing food over to the neighbors and staying involved. Before the pandemic, her home was the place where her family and friends gathered for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Unfortunately, as her health worsened, it became harder to stay active and involved. An aging house just added to the burden. During an already difficult time, her old carpet was worsening her asthma and the rickety steps made it hard to go up and down the back porch. Shirletha tried her best to maintain her home but realized she needed help.

That's where we came into the story.

When she reached out to Rebuilding Together, Shirletha told us these repairs would make it "healthier for me, easier for me to be able to live in the house until God calls me home."

Rebuilding Together’s team of volunteers removed the carpet throughout the house to help with Shirletha’s asthma and repaired some very weak spots in the floor. The team also worked on her porch to make it safer and easier to use and took on other repair tasks to make her home safer and healthier.

Today, despite having some physical limitations, Shirletha can safely access and enjoy her home.