Rebuilding Together: A nonprofit helps those in need stay in their homes

Left to right (Tynika Borden, Tyrone Borden, Patricia Borden, Tyrone Borden Jr.)The Bordens, pose for a family photo in front of their residence in Coral Gables. The Bordens, recently received a Home makeover free of charge, from the non-profit organization Rebuilding Together. Their home was made handicap accessible, as well as freshly painted.

While recovering from a heart attack she suffered in May, Patricia Borden discovered that diabetes had cut off circulation to her foot. Four months later, she has lost all of the toes on her left foot and continues to struggle with high blood pressure and renal failure.

Her husband, Tyrone Borden, suffers from his own health challenges. He also has foot problems stemming from diabetes: He is blind in his left eye and the retina in his right eye is in danger of detaching itself. Still, he manages to take care of his wife of more than 20 years. The couple, who has lived in the house since they married, raised two children, both of them now on their own.

The family has struggled with disabilities for 10 years. Tyrone Borden, 52, had to quit his job at the Coral Gable’s Public Works Department in 1999 after undergoing multiple foot surgeries. Soon after, his wife left her job at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she had worked for more than 25 years.

Their house, located on Grant Street in the section of Coral Gables that abuts the Village West community, has become just one more worry for the Bordens. Partly because of their health problems, the Bordens’ house had become so dilapidated that the city of Coral Gables threatened to fine the couple $250 for every day they violated zoning ordinances.

Fortunately, the Bordens recently were contacted by Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit organization that rehabilitates the homes of low-income, elderly and disabled people.

The organization first heard about the Bordens’ troubles when its volunteers were working on another house just down the street, said Donna Fales, the executive director of Rebuilding Together’s Miami-Dade chapter. Rebuilding Together called the Bordens’ daughter, Tynika Borden, 29, to discuss what work needed to be done on the house.

*   *   *

Yvonne Gaitor lived in her yellow, “shotgun” house, which is a street over from the Bordens, for more than 30 years before becoming disabled and confined to a wheelchair.

“One day, she left the house and could not return for years because of the stairs leading to her door,” Fales said. “She went to live with her daughter instead.”

Rebuilding Together volunteers built a ramp, widened the doors, painted the house, planted trees and installed handicap bars in the bathroom. Now Gaitor’s family comes to her house every week to barbecue.

*  *  *

Clarence Pool’s living conditions were even more drastic. Pool, 82, is blind and has prostate cancer. He has lived with his 76-year-old wife, Inez, in the same house in the West Grove - now called Village West – for more than 50 years.

“They had a hole in the roof you could see the sky through, and a hole in the floor you could see the ground through,” Fales said.

Not only did the organization replace the roof and rebuild floors, it also replaced a broken sink and the single-burner stove the couple cooked on. Now, they have all new appliances. The group also fumigated the house and rebuilt the bathroom.

*  *  *

Since 2006, Rebuilding Together’s Miami-Dade chapter has focused its efforts in the Village West area. The group, part of a national organization founded in 1993, works in a community for three years to make a significant impact, Fales said.

“It has been wonderful,” she said. “We have had tremendous support from the families.”

The organization has repaired 64 houses in the Village West community and the city commission just approved additional funding to renovate 16 houses. Local groups often refer those who cannot manage the repairs themselves. Qualifying homeowners also can apply on their own.

The nonprofit coordinates with churches and universities to recruit volunteers. More than 20 University of Miami students recently helped paint the Bordens’ house, fix their hurricane shutters and replace exterior baseboards.

Kristen Gibson, a sophomore studying computer information and economics, said she heard about the project through the United Black Students association on campus.

“I think as a student you can feel helpless sometimes,” Gibson said. ”But when you get involved with something like this, you know you are doing something significant.”

Hanzala Siddiq, a freshman studying electrical engineering, said he has an obligation to the university community.

“I attend the university on a scholarship,” he said. “The state has invested in my education, and I only think it is right to invest some of my time to give back.”

*   *   *

Patricia Borden was not home when the volunteers arrived that Saturday morning. Her son, Tyrone Jr., had driven her to a clinic across town where she spends hours inside a hyperbaric chamber. When she arrived home, her husband held the newly fixed door open as her daughter wheeled her into the freshly painted house.

“I just want to thank all of the volunteers,” she said. “Your help has done so much to make my life easier.”