Photos: Coming Together to Help a Neighbor
Ms. Emma on her porch in front of the completed accessibility ramp, June 25.
At age 93, Ms. Emma Aiken is a mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother, a great great grandmother and a great great great grandmother. Her daughter, Carol, explains that there are 165 family members — which they believe is one the largest African American families in the area. Family reunions are outdoor affairs as no one’s home is large enough to host the entire family. While Asheville is home, Emma’s family extends from the mid-west up into the northeast, down to Hendersonville and beyond.
Emma moves around well for her age, but the stairs leading down from the front door of her West Chapel Road home proved to be tricky. That’s where Asheville Habitat’s Home Repair team came in. Our team, accompanied by Spectrum volunteers, built a 70′ accessibility ramp and did some minor repairs so Emma can continue to live in the home that holds all of her family memories.
On May 19, more than 20 volunteers from Spectrum spent their Saturday in the mud building sections of the ramp, landscaping, and digging holes for the ramp posts. Spectrum generously donated their time and money through the Spectrum Housing Assist program. Despite the wet weather, the volunteers were eager to work and worked together to complete different tasks. This was the most volunteers we have had on a Home Repair project to date!
“Since my husband passed I don’t have a lot of people out here,” Emma said. “So it was just amazing to see all the volunteers out here- they came out here to help me.”
Spectrum volunteers dig holes for the porch support beams, May 19.
The volunteers before the start of the project.
Emma waving to her neighbor from her front porch in front of the completed 70′ ramp, June 25.
