LYNN — He went to Life Care Center of the North Shore for temporary assistance, but what he ended up walking out with was a whole lot more.
This lifelong Lynner, who asked to be called “John Doe,” was living in a home with no plumbing or heating and inadequate electricity. He would use his stove to stay warm, and when he needed a shower, he’d walk to the local YMCA.
The house is the one he grew up in. It was owned by his beloved aunt, and when she passed in 1997, she left it to him through a trust.
“I’ve been here by myself since,” he said. “This is my boyhood home. My aunt bought this house in 1955 when I was 7. I am 75 now.”
Last year in February, “John” was on one of his walks to the YMCA to shower when he got severe frostbite on his foot. He ended up at Salem Hospital, and after they treated him, they sent him to Life Care Center of the North Shore for a little more assistance.
“He was probably ready to go home two weeks after being here, but he expressed to the nurses he had no heat or plumbing,” said Life Care Admissions Director Kayleigh Valente. “So, we kept him here.”
When Valente heard that, she decided to look up “John’s” home on Google Maps. She said it looked terrible. So, while he got comfortable in his room at Life Care, Valente started making some calls to see what could be done. Her first call was to Ward 3 Lynn City Councilor Coco Alinsug, who actually lived near the home.
Valente said when she called Alinsug, he was already aware of the house, stating it had several neighbor complaints for overgrown bushes and a front yard in need of some love and care. So, she went on Facebook and made a public post asking if anyone was willing and able to donate some free time to help clean up “John’s” front yard.
It was then that a Ward 3 neighbor stepped up and paid a couple hundred dollars of her own money for a landscaping company to come out and clean it all up. The help didn’t end there.
Valente continued to make phone calls around the city, asking what could be done to help “John.” It was then that she learned about the Rehab and Repair program through Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND). She went to apply for it on behalf of John, but she learned that part of the agreement was not owing any property taxes, which he did.
So, Valente found herself calling up Charlie Gaeta, LHAND’s executive director and CEO. He helped her with an abatement on “John’s” property tax and trash removal fees, which, according to her, stopped the property tax altogether.
“Once we had all that, we applied to the rehab program through Lynn housing,” Valente said. “First, they said no because he needed a deed, but because he received the house through a trust, we were able to use that.”
So, by the end of last February, it had all been applied for. After that, Valente said it took about six months to get the ball rolling, but thankfully, “John” was quickly approved.
LHAND ended up awarding him two loans, one for $40,055 and the other for $37,940. Valente says that LHAND told her this was the largest amount of money they had ever awarded to one person. Thankfully, he won’t owe on either of those loans unless he sells the house, which he has no plan to.
“It was just one of those situations where I was like, he needs help, and I just ended up going all in,” Valente said. “I never knew Lynn had this program before. It’s a good program.”
Valente and LHAND were inside “John’s’ home with contractors mapping out what needed to be done by the beginning of last March. From then until the beginning of this February, they got to work.
They did his bathroom over completely, with a new toilet, shower, and sink. The flooring on the first floor was redone, and the kitchen ceiling received all-new tiles. He got brand new kitchen cabinets and windows, a fresh paint job, and a whole new heating system and pipes for plumbing.
They also had to get the home’s electrical system up to code because it was “knob and tube wiring,” which is no longer permitted in new construction today. Life Care also ensured he got MassHealth, which enrolled him in the Greater Lynn Senior Services (GLSS) program. That provided him with a personal caretaker, a money manager, a homemaker, and a local food delivery service.
“He got everything brand new, down to the toilet paper in his house,” Valente said. “They even took him food shopping the day of his discharge.”
“John” was discharged from Life Care and brought back to his now livable home a few weeks ago on Feb. 12. One of the only things left to do to his home is the exterior paint job, which they plan to do for him once the weather is a bit nicer.
“He was not open to a lot of it, and he didn’t want the help,” Valente said. “Up until the week of his discharge, he was still saying no to our offers. It took a lot of persuading.”
Carla Ciaramella, executive director for Life Care Center of the North Shore, said, “John” is someone who is so ingrained in the community, and it was rewarding to help him.
“We have a limited number of beds with a high need,” Ciaramella added. “However, we want to ensure everyone we are sending home has a safe space to be able to continue living in a healthy manner… This is a generation of people who maybe were the caregivers or worked their whole lives. So, being able to support them in their journey of recovery or help them be successful at home is important in order to help them maintain the highest quality of life for their last years.”
After proudly showing his renovated home, “John” said he was overwhelmed when everyone wanted to help him, but now he’s just grateful. His stay at the center was only supposed to be for a month, but he ended up residing there for a year and three days while his home was being fixed up.
“It’s wonderful. I didn’t know they were going to do all this. It came as a surprise,” he said. “Now, I don’t have to go down to the YMCA as much for anything. I can just go to work out.”
