With a little help from her friends
ne...@mlmkc.org
The best way to describe the conclusion of this story is that Hazel
Johnson can once again walk to her church.
Hazel, who lives at 3612 Wabash, was virtually a prisoner in her own
home. At age 94, she was unable to negotiate the steep steps in front
of her house, even to attend her church less than a block away.
"I used to skip up those steps," she recalls today. "But I can't get
up them now."
Equally serious, Hazel found it difficult to reach the curb so her
daughter Brenda Willis could drive her on errands, even to the doctor.
That's when Metro Lutheran Ministry came into the picture.
Hazel and her daughter Brenda are friends of long-time MLM volunteer
Edith Bolder. Through Edith, they learned that volunteer help could
assist with construction of a ramp that would allow Hazel to reach a
driveway in the rear of the home. This April, volunteers from the
Revolution United Lutheran Church joined perennial MLM volunteer Leroy
Zimmerman to complete the ramp in only a matter of days.
"It changed her life," Brenda said. "It has let her get back into the
community."
Hazel's family has had contact with MLM previously. One of Brenda's
sisters, the late Donna Kinney, volunteered for several years with the
organization.
Hazel and her daughter said the workmanship and care brought by the
volunteers was dramatic in itself. "They even moved a rose bush to
make room for the ramp," Hazel noted. "That's one of my yellow ones."
Brenda said the family cannot express their appreciation enough. "Just
be sure to say we thank them," she stressed. "It's made so much
difference."
With support from 47 area Lutheran churches and another 167
congregations representing 18 denominations, Metro Lutheran Ministry
of Kansas City serves homeless youth and adults, senior citizens and
families throughout the metropolitan area. For more information, call
(816) 931-0027 or visit www.mlmkc.org on the Internet.