[StBernard] Discouraged

[Westley Annis]

Lisa,
 
I appreciate your frustration.  If there are any suggestions that I would
make is allow the summer to pass and plan to secure the property later in
the summer.  I am glad that you are committed to returning- let the process
run its course and the windows that you can put in can be of any material
that you can see through into the gutted property.
 
Good luck and God Bless,
Craig 
 
-----Original Message-----

I have only posted an email to this group once in the past, but after
visiting my home in Lexington this afternoon I felt compelled to express my
opinion on the "blighted housing" issue.  My house is gutted, by the grace
of the wonderful volunteers.  However, it still sits with debris from the
surrounding houses as well as some of my own.  I am a single mother, who
spent a great deal of time, with only my mother helping me, digging and
gutting my house before any volunteers ever arrived.   The inside of my
house was basically empty except for the mud and sheetrock.  The task of
removing the rest of the debris from my yard, shed & garage is extremely
overwhelming to me.  However, what disturbs me more is the vandalism that I
discovered today.  After being gutted and cleaned up, my house was left with
only one broken window in the front of my house, and it was a window broken
by me during my attempt to clean out my house.  Today I discovered many
glass beer bottles scattered in front of my house.  Those beer bottles were
used to beat out the remaining windows in the front of my home.  I spoke to
my neighbor who is living in a fema trailer across the street.  He told me
that he just recently had paint balls shot at the front of his house and
eggs thrown all over his van......and he is living there.  Now I have to
spend money to replace windows broken by vandals.....money that I don't
have......and for what?????  Who will guarantee that they will not be broken
again?  The parish wants all the homes to be brought into "compliance" by
August 29th with windows fixed and doors replaced, but can anybody insure
that it will not be done in vain????  My plan was to gut and clean out my
property, bring it into compliance and maintain it until I could afford to
rebuild it.....but, I cannot afford to keep replacing windows, etc. after
vandals destroy it.  So, what should I do now????
 
Lisa LaHoste