PWC helps woman with mobility problems

http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/pwc-helps-woman-with-mobility-problems-258871.html?bigName=Staff+photo+by+Rick+McCrabb&bigPhotog=Staff+photo+by+Rick+McCrabb&bigCap=Joyce+Burns%2c+who+lives+at+2019+Woodlawn+Ave.%2c+calls+the+remodeling+work+done+by+People+Working+Cooperatively+truly+amazing.+The+agency+completed+work+in+her+bathroom+and+kitchen.&bigDeclCap=Joyce+Burns%2c+who+lives+at+2019+Woodlawn+Ave.%2c+calls+the+remodeling+work+done+by+People+Working+Cooperatively+truly+amazing.+The+agency+completed+work+in+her+bathroom+and+kitchen.&bigCred=&bigUrl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ohio-share.coxnewsweb.com%2fmultimedia%2fdynamic%2f00550%2f56917680_-1_550610c.jpg&superSizeImage=y">

Joyce Burns was a prisoner in her own house.

Burns, a mild diabetic on her third pacemaker and third knee surgery, had difficulty maneuvering around her kitchen and first-floor bathroom.

Those medical conditions were as restrictive as shackles.

For Burns, using the toilet or taking a bath — an everyday task — was a major chore.

“I couldn’t get down,” she said Tuesday, Aug. 18 while sitting at her kitchen table. “And if I got down, getting back up was harder.”

Then her life changed.

Burns, 63, found the keys to the jail cell hanging on the hook when she was introduced to People Working Cooperatively, a non-profit organization that serves low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners in 13 counties in Ohio and Kentucky.

The goal of PWC is simple: Provide professional, critical home repairs and maintenance services to help residents stay in their homes.

Or in Burns’ case, get around in her home.

John Hay, manager of the agency’s Modifications for Mobility program, called it a “construction company with a heart.”

Construction workers remodeled her bathroom, removed a wall and the bathtub and added a shower; and replaced her kitchen sink and cabinets, she said.

The 100-year-old house got a face lift that would make a plastic surgeon smile.

“I can’t believe it’s mine,” Burns said. “I’m tickled to death, thrilled to death.”

Now in its 34th year, PWC has provided more than 175,000 services to eligible clients, who on average earn less than $13,000 a year.

The agency is funded by local municipalities, businesses, organizations, foundations and individual donors.

Some of their repairs include simply adding a ramp to get residents out of the house.

“That six inches can be as significant as the Wall of China to some people,” Hay said.

Burns dropped out of Middletown High School in 1964, her senior year, to get married and begin her family.

She later worked in janitorial services and for seven years at Jefferson Smurfit. She is divorced with four grown sons, who all live in the area.

She was born in Middletown, and she plans to die here.

Right there on Woodlawn.

“This is home,” she said. “I’m so grateful, so thankful.”