Volunteers clear a Hernando County veteran's path home

Thanks to volunteers, a veteran can return to a refitted house.

By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staf Writer
Published March 10, 2008

Scott Jager of the Christian Contractors Association works on widening a door in Kenneth and Mary Johns' home in Brookridge. In the background, the Johnses talk about the modifications. Kenneth Johns suffers from multiple sclerosis and an ankle injury.
	[Will Vragovic | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Will Vragovic | Times] Family members and volunteers join hands in prayer before starting renovation work at Kenneth Johns' home in Brookridge on Saturday. [Will Vragovic | Times] Renovation work progresses Saturday morning at the Johns' home in Brookridge.

BROOKRIDGE

Not even a symphony orchestra could have sounded better to Kenneth Johns than the noise of nail guns, saws and the chatter of a crush of visitors in his home on Saturday.

"I actually don't have words to explain," Johns said, watching all the activity. "I don't know whether to say 'free at last' or 'free again."'

Freedom for the wheelchair user came in the form of wider doorways, ramps and other accessibility features added by a coalition of volunteers coordinated through the Heroes at Home Program.

The work will mean that Johns, who has been in the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa for nearly a year recovering from a broken ankle and a host of complications, can soon come home.

Volunteers from the Christian Contractors Association in Brooksville arrived early Saturday to begin the daylong renovation process. With construction sounds hammering in the background, Johns, who got a day pass to come home and see the work, and his wife, Mary, visited with dignitaries, representatives of Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, family, neighbors and the news media.

One visitor who was especially happy to see Johns in his home was U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite. When Mrs. Johns shared her husband's story with Brown-Waite recently, the House member made a few calls. Saturday's renovation was the result.

"Is it good to be home?" Brown-Waite asked before offering Johns a big hug.

He nodded and smiled. "You're making it possible," he said.

Organizers estimated that the supplies and time amounted to a couple of thousand dollars of effort. The Heroes at Home program works to improve the lives of military families by making needed home renovations.

It is a partnership of Rebuilding Together and Sears Holdings Corp.

Dean Doremus, who works with Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, said that the local group has been doing about a dozen such projects each year in the area. The hope is to expand that to 40 to 50 in the future.

"The best thing is when you see that smile on their face," Doremus said, trying to swallow his own emotions after talking to Johns. "There is just so much need out there."

Johns, 68, served in the Navy from 1959 through 1963. Afterward, he ran a machine shop in Massachusetts until multiple sclerosis began to rob him of his physical abilities. The cold winters finally drove the couple to Florida 22 years ago.

Even suffering the progressive effects of the MS, Johns was able to navigate around his manufactured home until he fell in early 2007, fracturing an ankle.

The separation hasn't been easy for Mrs. Johns, a two-time cancer survivor. Adding to the difficulties faced by the family, Mrs. Johns lost her brother and her niece within the last month. And she has had to learn all of the things a single person learns about caring for a house. There have been several sessions where she has been on the phone with her husband and he has talked her through a home repair.

It was time for something good to happen, and Saturday's activities fit the bill as she ran from room to room, grabbing a pen for one volunteer and bandages for another.

Mrs. Johns brings her husband home on Sundays, but it requires two drivers - one to drive the van with the lift for his scooter and the other to drive a lower car that he can get into. Then, Johns said, he has to return by the end of the day to the VA hospital because he cannot get around the home. The trips are expensive and taxing.

Johns' confinement has also meant that many precious family events have been missed, said Cheri Harapat, Johns' daughter. He also has had limited time to see his grandchildren because they cannot visit at the hospital.

The importance of family was evident in the Johns home. Photographs of significant family events were scattered in every corner.

Johns' eyes brightened as he talked about getting back where he belongs.

"It's going to be a whole new life when I get home," he said.

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or 352 848-1434.

Learn more

For more information about Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, the program behind the renovations at the home of Kenneth and Mary Johns, visit www.rebuildingtogethertampabay.org.

Related Web sites

Heroes at Home: www.searsholdings.com/communityrelations/hero/

Christian Contractors Association: www.ccaministry.org/home.html

[Last modified March 9, 2008, 20:39:28]