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.

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…

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Yesterday, our executive director, Natalie Vowell, spoke to Miss DD at her Wells/Goodfellow home.  They spent an hour on the porch together, Miss DD recounting all the memories made there.   Miss DD’s grandparents were the second black family to move into the neighborhood.  Their house, built in 1914, has been in the family since.  But it was slated for tax auction the very next day, with an opening bid of $1,786.  Miss DD only had $1100 and had been unable to work out a payment plan with the Collector of Revenue in time.   PRTR tried to raise the other $686 to cover the remaining expenses to purchase it at auction.  But by midnight, we still had no donations, and the chances of Miss DD being able to bid on her grandparents’ home were looking grim…

At 7am today, Natalie received a text from an unfamiliar number.  It was an anonymous donor—whom PRTR wishes we could thank publicly!—offering to supplement the remainder of the starting bid on Miss DD’s grandparents’ house.  Miss DD met Natalie at the courthouse this morning for the tax auction, on a hope and a prayer that no one else would bid on the property.  They anxiously awaited the parcel number to be called… Placed the bid…  “Going once, going twice, SOLD.”  Miraculously, Miss DD got it for minimum bid with no competition, paid for it, and received her Sheriff’s sale receipt!  Thanks to the kindness of two anonymous strangers, Miss DD’s historic home will continue to serve as a family gathering place, making new memories for generations to come…  St. Louisans are some amazingly generous people!

Friday, April 24, 2015
Mr. B has rented his Wells/Goodfellow home in the 22nd Ward for over 20 years.  After an absentee landlord stopped paying the property taxes and left town, the house was purchased at tax auction, and eventually donated to Project Raise The Roof.  When we heard Mr. B’s story and how he took care of his previous landlady in her ailing days, today we transferred the deed to his name, and he became—for the first time in his life—a homeowner!