“Momma was here for three years before HCLF saved me and made life so much easier,” says Sheila Jackson. With three steps leading to the front door of her home, Ms. Jackson’s wheelchair-bound mother, Roberta, was 72 at that time. She had to be lifted up the steps by two people; usually Jackson and her grandson. “We would lift her up the steps, chair and all. No way could I do it alone! And let me tell you, no disrespect intended, but Momma was a big woman!” chuckles Jackson. Her fondness for her mother, desire for her well being, and commitment to her care is more than evident despite any joking. Sometimes when the handicapped van would drop her mother off from adult daycare in Wethersfield, they would wait together on the sidewalk for a kind soul passing by to help lift Roberta Jackson up the front steps.

The Jackson Family: From left Sheila Jackson, Shanekwa Jackson, Hollister Brown, Jashira Henry

Before rejoining the family in south Hartford, Roberta was residing in a convalescent home in Bridgeport. “I wanted to get my mother here. I worked for the Section 8 department at Charter Oak, and finally I had an opportunity to buy a house and go get my mother. Whatever it took, I was gonna get her back. But the home wouldn’t release mom to me for good without lots of repairs to the house, like a ramp and a handicapped bathroom,” she sighs.

A single mother, working two jobs while taking care of her infirmed mother, Jackson thought about putting a makeshift plywood ramp on the steps because she couldn’t afford a real one. It wouldn’t have supported enough weight, though, and certainly would have failed the inspection required by the convalescent home to allow the elder Jackson to live with her daughter permanently.

Thinking of where to turn for help, Jackson remembers looking to the city for funding for the necessary repairs. “They tried, but they didn’t have anything. Most other places wanted me to take a loan, but on my budget, being a single parent, that wouldn’t work for me. One guy even wanted to build me a ramp, but he asked for a thousand dollars!” she gasps.

Hartford Community Loan Fund stepped in with a grant for handicap accessibility improvements for Ms. Jackson’s home on Standish Street. The first-floor bathroom was renovated for accessibility, a wooden ramp and railing were constructed for the home’s rear entrance, and several doorways were widened to accommodate the wheelchair.

The ramp

“I really needed this,” emphasizes Jackson, “and HCLF got the ball rolling immediately.” After contacting HCLF and providing them with the paperwork required, Jackson remembers it wasn’t long until HCLF informed her that she could pick out a contractor for the work. “They helped me identify three contractors to choose from. I interviewed them, and was happy to hear the third one tell me how much pride he took in his work. So I chose him,” she remembers. HCLF drew up the necessary paperwork, and stopped by the home periodically to check on the work. “HCLF was concerned that I would be satisfied with the work, and even checked to make sure the contractor was here on time and all. It took about two months to make the renovations,” says Jackson.

From the beginning of her relationship with HCLF, Sheila Jackson says she was looking for a "Catch 22" somewhere, but never found it. Though she initially questioned HCLF’s motivation in granting her the funds, by working with the staff at HCLF she quickly learned that her suspicions were unfounded. "I thought, okay, people do care, there is help available. It was a blessing," she smiles. She was comfortable with the professionals at HCLF and the contractors they worked with, and felt everyone was very caring about her predicament and her mother’s wellbeing. "HCLF, well, they’re just excellent. They care about the people they’re doing the work for. If there’s something you need, they’ll do it for you. They’re like family-oriented, you feel comfortable and relaxed there. They’re down to earth people, real people," says Jackson.

Roberta Jackson had been in a wheel chair for eleven years. With the home renovations completed, her daughter says she would light up in the morning knowing that all of her needs could be attended to in her daughter’s home. "She just grinned after we got the work done. We used to have to work the wheelchair back and forth to get her into her bedroom, with her hands and legs in tight so they wouldn’t get hurt. Without HCLF’s help to make life easier for me and my mother, I don’t know where either of us would have been," Sheila Jackson reflects.

Ms. Jackson wishes more people knew of HCLF and took advantage of their home improvement programs. She says, "It’s like a place around the corner with whatever you need, and they care. There’s a difference! I could have never, never afforded to do all that work before that grant. People are leery when they hear things are ‘free.’ But HCLF is for real, and they should feel good about helping people in the community, just being there for the people."

Loan funds provided by CT Department of Economic and Community Development.