Help on the horizon for 86-year-old Acres Homes woman battling health issues in dilapidated home

HOUSTON – We are following up on a story that touched many of you.

Help may be on the way for Miss Earnestine Brown, the 86-year-old Acres Homes woman who is battling multiple serious health issues while living in a home that is collapsing around her.

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The house she has lived in for five decades was once a safe haven, but over the years it has become a dangerous place.

“She puts paper in the door because the door frames aren’t aligned,” said Sally Retzloff, a longtime friend. “The whole house leans. You walk and fall that way. She went up the stairs the other day and fell on the floor. She lay there for a while before she could get up. She used the chairs to get up, but she really hurt herself.”

Feeling she had nowhere else to turn, Miss Brown’s dear friend Sally Retzloff emailed the Spencer Solves It team a few weeks ago to see how she could get the 86-year-old the help she so desperately needs to make her home a place of safety, stability and comfort again.

“Miss Brown is a very charming and welcoming person.” After we shared her story, John Work, construction manager for The Restoration Team, visited Miss Brown.

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The Restoration Team is a local home repair and disaster response nonprofit and one of KPRC 2’s community partners that repairs the homes of Houstonians in need. He wanted to see his living conditions for himself.

“A walk-in shower would make his life a lot better. He could just walk from one room to the other,” Work said. “We could improve the entryways to make his life easier, to go from his living space to the kitchen to the bathroom, so that those kinds of things would be ADA compliant.”

Work and his team of volunteers believe they can make the changes needed to improve Miss Brown’s quality of life, but one challenge remains: funding.

“We’re always accepting donations. You know money speaks louder than anything else,” said Trevor Barnett, executive director of The Restoration Team. “On restorationrestorationteam.org, there’s a little button where you can sign up to be a monthly donor. That’s the best way you can help us.”

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For Miss Brown, there is hope on the horizon as she waits. For Work and her team, the mission is clear: to make sure she can stay in the home she loves, safely. “A lot of people watch your show. We love that some of them will pick up the phone or go to their computer and go to our website to help Miss Brown. They can help Miss Brown directly with their funding,” Work said.

If you would like to donate to the restoration team and support Miss Brown, click here.

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