Robert has lived in Chapel Hill all his life and doesn’t see himself living anywhere else. Before retiring, he worked at UNC Health as an Operating Room Technician. Robert is also a proud veteran of the US Army serving on the missile crew from 1971-1973 and still has a community of fellow veterans he keeps in touch with as well as being connected to his church. He now spends most of his free time with his two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

It was actually taking care of his great grandchildren that made him take action to getting repair work done on his home. His roof was in desperate need of repairing since it was not insulating the home well. He also did not have any heat in the home, making the winter months very cold in his home. He relied on space heaters to warm his living room and one bedroom, though fearing for the safety of himself and the young children that spent time in the home.

“Some rooms you would freeze, and some you would rely on space heaters. I knew the work needed to be done, but people aren’t always financial able to think about it,” said Robert.

Robert found out about the Home Preservation Program through friends at church and worked with The Jackson Center to fill out an application. Once approved and the initial work was completed, it was also noticed that his bathroom was in need of some repairs. A few months later, thanks to funding from Veteran Home Depot Repair Corps, Habitat was able to replace Robert’s shower, toilet, flooring, and some electrical work making the only bathroom in the home safer.

“Being in the bathroom is the last place you want to be cold. It would have been totally impossible to do this work without Habitat.”