Two Gilroy home owners were among 250 Silicon Valley residents
whose homes were made a little sweeter Saturday.
For disabled Bob Reyes it was like ‘Christmas in April’ when volunteers descended on his mobile home Saturday
GILROY – Two Gilroy home owners were among 250 Silicon Valley residents whose homes were made a little sweeter Saturday.
Rebuilding Together – a national volunteer organization providing free home repair to elderly, low-income and disabled people – rehabilitated more than 8,000 homes in the United States April 26 as part of its National Rebuilding Day project. The group, formerly called Christmas in April, will be at it again this Saturday, May 3.
“You can’t believe how excited I was when I learned my home was chosen,” Gilroy mobile home owner Robert Reyes said. “I thought I was a forgotten man.”
Reyes, an amputee, had more than half a dozen volunteers arrive Saturday at his home. The workers painted his kitchen, trimmed trees, reinforced the front porch guard rails and replaced cracked shower lining.
“It really feels like Christmas in April,” Reyes said.
Susan Houghton, who served as liaison between homeowners and Rebuilding Together, called the Reyes job “small compared to other projects.”
“Last year, we needed about two dozen volunteers to pull off a job in San Martin,” Houghton said. “It was an extended family living in small home on a couple of acres. They needed a whole bunch of repairs and refurbishing.”
Rebuilding Together relies on businesses and private volunteers to provide funds and manpower toward the effort. Roughly 1,500 volunteers representing Silicon Valley organizations and businesses took part in the effort Saturday.
Work for Rebuilding Together starts in January and February when homeowners respond to the group’s flyers. Homeowners determined to be most in need and least able to do the work themselves are selected.
On paper, Reyes may not have been the group’s final choice. On his application, the former convenience store and deli owner and operator didn’t mention that he was an amputee.
“When they came here for the interview they realized I had lost my leg and that put me higher up on the list I guess,” Reyes said.
Reyes lost his leg due to gangrene after complications arose from minor surgery and medication for a broken toe nail. A diabetic and kidney transplant recipient, Reyes’ life took several turns for the worse after a divorce nearly 15 years ago.
About five years ago, Reyes’ physical health went downhill after years of stress stemming from the divorce, an ill mother and being the victim of fraud by a business associate, he said.
Despite life’s curve balls, Reyes has been a regular volunteer himself in recent years. Among other things, he entertains at Saint Louise Regional Hospital and the Live Oak Adult Daycare Center as a karaoke singer.
“Maybe I’m getting paid back for all the volunteering I’ve been doing,” Reyes said.
