Housing for Native Elders, Part II

Helen mentioned our home improvement service for Native American Elders and one in particular whose roof caved in while home repairs were underway. It was the home of Mary S. This is her story.

Mary lives in her Hogan by herself in the Navajo community of Thoreau, New Mexico.  Our Program Partner for home improvement identified Mary’s home as one in dire need of repair. The roof appeared precarious, and this hazard was quickly confirmed when the contractors evaluated her home.   

Mary has lived in her Hogan for over 45 years and raised her two children there.  Her daughter lives across the gravel road leading up to Mary’s home and a grandson lives behind her.  Her Hogan was built through the help of a local charity group, but it was never quite the home she had hoped for…  She loves her Hogan; this was evident from our conversations. But at that point, the makeshift floors patched together with duck tape, the sun seeping through large cracks surrounding the chimney, and the sagging roof has made her day-to-day living difficult and unsafe. 

Mary also had no electricity or running water. Her propane was being  supplied through a small tank similar to those used with outdoor grills. The local electric company was prohibited from providing service to the Hogan because of safety concerns and regulations.  The little electricity Mary needs was obtained by running a long extension cord from her grandson’s trailer to her home.  Mary also relied on her grandson’s trailer for water.  Cooking was obviously a challenge and Mary relied on her caregiver or the Elderly Nutrition Center for meals. 

It was Mary’s caregiver from tribe’s Elderly Services program who helped her and her husband move all of their belongings out of the Hogan so the contractors could begin their work. Mary stayed with her grandson during the work and was watching as the contractors began removing the beams of her roof.  The roof completely collapsed!  The exterior walls were held together only by a heavy-duty tie down strap that encircled the house.  Mary had always been afraid something like this would happen.  Fortunately, Mary was not in her Hogan when it did, and the contractor confirmed the roof would not have lasted another year. 

Two weeks into the repairs, the exterior work was done. A new concrete floor had been poured—bye bye Duct Tape!  And the contractor had installed a concrete step outside the front door, removing the hazard of Mary tripping at the entry. But one day, the contractor found Mary crying. The reality of the repairs was sinking in. She was so thankful she would have a safe home and the home she had always wanted.  Extremely eager to move back home, Mary was sad to learn the work would take another week or two. Almost two weeks to the day later, we went do to the final walkthrough with the contractor and found Mary had moved back in – she just couldn’t wait any longer!

Mary was so happy with the work that was done and even happier to get electricity for the first time ever.  The contractor wanted to do something a little extra to ensure Mary had the home she always wanted and that he knew she needed.  With the roof repairs done and the safety hazards gone, he took it upon himself to arrange for the electric company to set up service for Mary’s hogan. He personally donated the set up costs to ensure that Mary no longer ran the extension cord to her grandson’s trailer — and he helped her power up her radio to the Navajo station.  As final gifts, we also provided a small tank full of propane for her stove and the contractor returned once more to install another safety feature: a steel railing at the entranceway to help her get in and out of her Hogan.

Just before her home was finished, Mary turned 79.  We had for her a special birthday wish: 
Happy Birthday Mary and Welcome Hogan!