LACOSTE, Texas – Melissa Balderrama walked KSAT through her newly remodeled mobile home on Friday.
It all began when the non-profit, Impact Cares, arrived at Balderrama’s doors step. They’re an organization that partners with local volunteers to improve the lives of people living in mobile home communities.
“So, it happened about a year and a half ago. They came by and they saw my trailer. My husband passed away about ten years ago. It needed a lot a lot of work. A lot of work couldn’t be saved,” said Balderrama.
Balderrama lived in her home for over 22 years. She says after her husband passed, the house just began to fall apart and she didn’t have the means to make repairs. Now it’s the small details in Balderrama’s new home that bring her the most joy.
“My doorknob broke, and I haven’t googled how to put a new one, so I haven’t had one in a while. I lock it from inside, but having everything like new is like a miracle,” said Balderrama.
And for many years she says she’s lived without a washer, dryer and even a stove,
“I have been looking at recipes that I want to make. The other day I said, stop you don’t have a stove, that’s not going to happen but now it is,” said Balderrama.
Tory Wilson, a project manager with Impact Cares says they typically help people with repairs, but when they saw Balderrama’s home they realized some areas were just uninhabitable.
“So, we started looking for a different home. We found one and got it. We remodeled it and painted the inside. We went through the inside and put new flooring, painted the inside, new appliances. And it’s taken us a while to get it all together. But we’re able to give her this new home today,” said Wilson.
Now she says she feels more confident in having friends and family over. The new home also gives her elderly dad peace of mind.
“He’s 84 and he always worried about me because I’m by myself but now he doesn’t have to,” said Balderrama.