Monthly Archives: August 2015

Mr. A Meets Miss Debra

Monday, August 24, 2015

Last week, we assisted Mr. A in getting a few dollars together, updating his driver’s license, and obtaining other paperwork necessary to enter a payment agreement with the Collector of Revenue in order to save his home from the auction block.  En route to City Hall, he asked what other kinds of work PRTR does.  When Mr. A heard about another one of our clients, Miss Debra, and her upcoming surgery/recovery, he could not bear that she had no air conditioning in her home.  He told us he had a spare window unit to give her, and asked only for transportation to get it to her house and install it in the window of her choice.

Today, Mr. A heaved his A/C into the backseat and hauled it over to the Miss Debra’s home.  At Miss Debra’s front door, the two were introduced for the very first time, and Mr. A immediately set to work.  Miss Debra sat on her bed, recovering from her latest doctor’s visit as Mr. A installed her new window unit.  Once it began pumping a cool breeze into Miss Debra’s bedroom, she perked up: “Thank you, oh, thank you!”  She handed him a few dollars and insisted, “Now, young man, you go buy yourself a soda-pop.”  As it turns out, these two live only a few blocks from one another.  This is what building strong neighborhoods looks like!

Mr. A Meets Miss Debra

Monday, August 24, 2015

Last month, we assisted Mr. A in keeping his home from going to auction.  En route to City Hall, he asked what other kinds of work PRTR does.  When Mr. A heard about another one of our clients, Miss Debra, and her upcoming surgery/recovery, he could not bear that she had no air conditioning in her home.  He told us he had a spare window unit to give her, and asked only for transportation to get it to her house and install it in the window of her choice.

Today, Mr. A heaved his A/C into the backseat and hauled it over to the Miss Debra’s home.  At Miss Debra’s front door, the two were introduced for the very first time, and Mr. A immediately set to work.  Miss Debra sat on her bed, recovering from her latest doctor’s visit as Mr. A installed her new window unit.  Once it began pumping a cool breeze into Miss Debra’s bedroom, she perked up: “Thank you, oh, thank you!”  She handed him a few dollars and insisted, “Now, young man, you go buy yourself a soda-pop.”  As it turns out, these two live only a few blocks from one another.  This is what building strong neighborhoods looks like!

Mr. A Earns His Tax Payment

 

Monday, August 10, 2015

Mr. A purchased his Mark Twain Neighborhood home 10 years ago so he could live next door to his mother to help her out with home maintenance and yard work.  But he fell on financial hard times when the job market declined a few years ago, and faced losing his home to tax auction this year.  Last week, PRTR assisted Mr. A in getting a few dollars together, updating his driver’s license, and obtaining other paperwork necessary to enter a payment agreement with the Collector of Revenue in order to save his home from the auction block.  “I love to work!  Never missed a day of work and never been fired from a job.  I used to detail cars,” said Mr. A.  So we found him some employment doing general labor.  Today, one of PRTR’s donors, Mr. Dave in Shaw, asked to hire Mr. A for “an odd job”, as he put it, cleaning up years worth of construction debris that had taken a toll on the interior of his work vehicle.  When Mr. A was finished, Mr. Dave barely recognized his truck.  Mr. Dave’s wife, Mrs. J, even “lifted her ban on traveling in it”!  A hot summer day turned into a pretty cool evening of great conversations and new connections across St. Louis neighborhoods, and Mr. Dave supplied Mr. A with a Black Lives Matter sign for his yard.


Driving Miss Debra

Monday, August 03, 2015

Today, we assisted disabled not-quite-senior citizen Miss Debra by driving her downtown to get on a payment plan for her back taxes.  Since a nasty fall a few months ago, she’s been unable to get around like she used to.  She had just enough money for her down payment, but not quite enough for a taxi or public transportation to make it to City Hall to sign her payment contract.  While cab fare may seem like pocket change to some, for many people, it’s the difference between holding onto their only assets to build wealth for future generations…or facing homelessness and having nothing to leave to their children.  PRTR was glad to help out.  No task too big or too small when it comes to helping our fellow St. Louisans.  Miss Debra will be having hip surgery later this week, and we wish her a speedy recovery!  Looking forward to seeing her on the dance floor soon…