THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 14, 1995 TAG: 9505140052
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
The plight of a 69-year old woman tugged at the heartstrings of a group of homeless people this week, and their help made music for all concerned.
``I don't know what I would have done without them,'' says Phyllis Carney, a retired secretary. Last week she returned to the trailer home that she had been forced to repossess - and found filthy and stripped bare of its contents.
``When I walked in here last Friday I couldn't believe my eyes,'' Carney said. ``It was filthy. There were piles of clothes. The appliances and furniture were just gone. My dinette set . . . was gone. My shed was gone, too.''
When Richard Powell, executive director of the Judeo Christian Outreach Center, heard what Carney faced, he asked residents of the shelter to help. The response amazed him.
Many hands made short work of the cleanup. Six women from the shelter scrubbed the trailer clean, then other volunteers installed new carpeting to replace the animal-soiled rug they had removed.
Early Saturday morning, Powell and his volunteers were hard at work installing a stove and repairing water pipes and electrical lines.
``The shelter gave me a chance to fix the wreckage of my life, so if I can help someone else, I will,'' said David Harnly from beneath Carney's sink.
Harnly, 28, is a plumber who lives, just now, at the Virginia Beach Boulevard shelter a few blocks from the beach. Carney's trailer is in Colony Trailer Park.
When Harnly heard about the woman's situation, he volunteered his services. Like the other residents of Powell's shelter, he works full-time as he struggles toward financial independence.
Richard Evans, 20, helped Powell prepare a range for installation. He is also a resident of the shelter.
Furniture from the outreach center's thrift shop will be moved into the trailer once the repairs are complete.
Galilee Episcopal Church has donated money to pay other expenses of restoring the trailer. Powell is chairman of the church's Community Service Committee.
Carney sold her trailer in July 1993, but the buyers didn't live up to their part of the bargain. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
NANCY LEWIS
David Harnly, a homeless plumber from the Judeo Christian Outreach
Center, repairs pipes under Phyllis Carney's kitchen sink, so she
could move back into her home.
by CNB