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RAY OF HOPE continued from page 1
of Hope Project Inc., which helps low-income families whose homes are in need of fixing up. The North Philly nonprofit did work in Walston’s rowhome on the 1400 block of South Bouvier Street. Walston claims Ray of Hope has left her high and dry, with many of her rooms in disrepair and unusable when the work ceased. “I was so excited about this whole project, now I’m just very hurt. I’m tired of living this way,” she said. No plumbing in the kitchen has meant washing dishes and preparing dinner in her second-floor bathroom, and a shower that isn’t hooked up has had her and her child relying on a friend for cleanups. But on the organization’s home page, www.rayofhopeproject.org, the primary mission statement is, “the rehabilitation of existing homes. Through the help of donations, volunteers and a capable staff of qualified contractors, The Ray of Hope Project is able to provide services such as roof repair, siding repair and handicapped-accessibility features, to mention only a few.” Ray of Hope co-founder Ray Gant claims his mission is complete and, after having worked in Walston’s two-story, two-bedroom dwelling for the last year, he sent her a letter in October stating as much. “I told her we were only there to repair structural damage. We don’t come there to remodel houses. We come to help people with the structural damage of the home,” Gant told the Review last week. “The rest of the work comes on them. We don’t come in and do cosmetic work. We don’t put kitchen cabinets in. We don’t do stucco work or anything else. If she thought for any reason that someone was coming in to do an extreme home makeover, she misunderstood.” Walston insists she did not misunderstand Ray of Hope’s intentions and the organization does not create contracts with homeowners. “If that’s all [Ray of Hope] did then why did you scrape the paint off my walls in my bedroom? Why did he take the tub out to build a shower? That’s not structural damage. If it’s just structural, why did he give me a new sink and toilet?,” she asked. Gant said water-damaged floors and walls from a leaking roof necessitated removing many appliances, not only in the bathroom, but the kitchen. As to why there’s no running water in the kitchen, Gant said, “She didn’t have running water in that kitchen. We didn’t take nothing from her that she didn’t have.” As far as the shower goes, Walston was
Judy Walston stands in her bedroom, where the wall has sustained water damage from leaks in the adjoining bathroom. S ta f f P h o t o G r e g B e z a n i s
responsible for buying the part she needed to make it work after a team of volunteers built a stall for her in September, he said. IN NOVEMBER ’08, 23 volunteers from an Atlanta college ministry began working in Walston’s water-damaged dwelling. “The big problem was a bad roof that caused all the damage to her kitchen and bathroom. We put a brand-new roof on, put beams and reframed the [kitchen] floor,” Gant said, adding the new roof cost about $2,400. Founded in October ’02 by Gant and Huntington Park businessman Willard Bostock, Ray of Hope uses recycled materials that are purchased through fundraising or donated by individuals and businesses. The organization depends on volunteers, from former convicts, like Gant himself, to college students and skilled contractors, to carry out the work. A meeting three years ago at a Point Breeze neighborhood cleanup, where Gant and Walston connected, got the fixing up going with Gant agreeing to help the single mother after she told him about her situation. Sept. 18 was the final time work was
done in Walston’s home and the last time she said she saw Gant. A team of volunteers from GlaxoSmithKline, working through Philadelphia Cares, an organization for which Gant has ties, came to the house that day and painted the dining room, put in drop ceiling panels, painted the kitchen walls, applied sheetrock to the ceiling and painted it, put up smoke detectors and replaced a light fixture in the stairwell leading to the second floor. Walston said the dining room, where she keeps her TV and computer, is the only area that is 100-percent fixed. Her living room, she claims, is not usable since the old tile is coming up and a leak in the ceiling from an upstairs air conditioner has damaged the walls. Aside from no stove, sink or running water, Walston’s biggest issue with her kitchen is the wooden-framed floor she said is wobbly. According to Gant, Walston is responsible for installing kitchen tile over the framing, something she said was never made clear to her. “When you leave somebody like that, you need to explain to them, ‘this is what you need to do,’” she said.
Ray of Hope tossed out old kitchen appliances that were either damaged or not working, like Walston’s sink which was rotted underneath from water damage. According to Gant, Walston was responsible for replacing those appliances. Her old refrigerator is the only appliance currently in the kitchen. Cooking has become a challenge and relying on a microwave and fryer, Walston tries to make balanced meals for her teen. Walston has no family nearby with whom she can move in, but even if she did, she said she worked very hard to purchase the Bouvier Street dwelling in ’02 and this is where she wants to reside. “I try to do what I can,” she said. “I’m just really hurt. I’m tired and it’s getting expensive. I don’t even know what to buy anymore. I need to look for microwavable things. It’s not fair to my daughter.” Walston believes Gant stopped work in her home because funding ran out, something he categorically denies. “We spent over $10,000 in that home, raising money, the materials, labor. It didn’t cost her one dime for us to come into that house,” he said. But the homeowner alleges, all summer long, Gant talked about how he had no money and suggested she hold fundraisers to help out. Walston said she tried to organize a fundraiser at a local church and even created a flier, but Gant never got back to her with a date — something, again, he denies. Walston’s home was the 80th in the city Ray of Hope had worked on and the organization is in the business of helping those in need, not destroying homes, Gant said. “This will be the first one that we’d done where there has been some type of dissatisfaction,” he added. “If anything, she should be real thankful for what had gotten done. There are people far worse off than her who we could have helped with that money.” Walston is on disability and said she has no money to make the repairs, but she has been asking friends who might know contractors so she can get some estimates. Asked what her daughter thinks of the living conditions, Walston said, “She doesn’t complain about it at all, but I can just imagine how she feels.” The best solution as far as Walston sees it is for Ray of Hope to come back and do the work she believes they need to do. “I think Ray needs to come back and finish the work. Even though we didn’t have a contract, he offered his services,” she said. SPR Contact Staff Writer Lorraine Gennaro at lgennaro@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124. Comment at www.southphillyreview.com/news.