It seems like so long ago that an elderly person could rely on the help of others in their neighborhood to help them whenever something went wrong.
It was never an official expectation, but neighbors would often stop by occasionally just to check on them and say a friendly hello, or help them with some odds and ends jobs. The jobs were never big, just help moving debris or fixing up something around the house.
However it seems like that time has passed us all by. Now everyone is so busy and focused on their own lives that elderly people are easily forgotten about.
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But there’s one incredible story that will remind you that there are still good people out there. 90-year-old Marie Louise Sikorski has lived in her home in Sarasota, Florida ever since she moved in when her daughter was in the 6th grade.
The home is full of memories, both good and bad and she still loves her home dearly. Unfortunately while she’s an active elderly woman, she is still an elderly woman and time took its toll on her home. She simply didn’t have the money to pay someone else to do it, so the house just sat.
Her neighbors began to notice the state of disrepair going on with her house, but instead of helping her they decided to just ignore it. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, someone had the nerve to call into the city and file an official complaint about her home!
The city took the complaint seriously and soon enough an inspector came out and checked out her house. The inspector told Marie that she either had to fix the home or she would be kicked out of her own home. The city was about to put a 90-year-old woman out on the street.
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The situation seemed grim as she simply didn’t have the funds to pay someone to help fix her home. But then a young neighbor saw what was going on and decided that he was going to help her out. The young man, Miles Gomis, took out his own tools and set to work. While he’s certainly no professional carpenter, he was a quick learner and soon her home was looking better and better.
Originally Miles thought it was going to a simple task, but before he knew he had spent a lot of time over at her home, fixing it up. Miles explained in an interview with Fox 13 News.
It’s been quite a journey over the last 2 1/2 months. I’ve just done mostly cleaning up, taking down fence and just little handyman stuff.
Still, Miles wasn’t going to be able to repair all of the issues to her home. She would need a professional contractor to help her out. So Miles set up a GoFundMe to help her out and erected a large sign in her front yard explaining her dire situation.
The response was remarkable, with many contractors offering to help, to concerned citizens the world over offering her donations. The city even offered to waive the fines.
Be sure to check out the video below