Businesses Provide Struggling Arlington Woman
Window of Hope
By
BILL HANNA
Star
Telegram
ARLINGTON -- For the last three years, Bernice Pittman's
life has been in a downward spiral. In 2007, her daughter
was shot and killed, and her mother died a few months later.
Pittman has struggled to cope ever since. She has been
disabled and unable to work.
Living
on a fixed income made it impossible to make the necessary
repairs to her east Arlington home. The small brick
residence's roof needs to be replaced. There are cracks on
the floor and leaks on the walls and the ceiling.
Just a
few months ago, Bernice Pittman almost lost hope when
Arlington officials told her that the repairs needed to fix
her home exceeded a $24,500 federal grant.
"I was
watching my home crumble around me, and there was nothing I
could do about it," Pittman said.
Then,
seemingly out of nowhere, her luck changed. Two local window
companies -- Brennan Enterprises of Arlington and NT Window
of Fort Worth -- offered to replace her windows for free.
The
installation of the energy-efficient windows Saturday will
allow the other repairs on her home to be completed. "When
it looked bad, my niece and I prayed on it," Pittman said.
"It was like our prayers were answered."
Outside the box
Brennan Enterprises came up with the idea to donate windows
before the Christmas holidays.
"It
was like, 'Let's go outside the box house and install free
windows for a needy family," said Monte Ramey, Brennan's
general manager.
Brennan contacted Arlington officials, and the company
quickly got its supplier, window manufacturer NT Window of
Fort Worth, on board.
"Actually when Monte brought up the idea, we were thinking
the same thing," said Ryan Ray, manager of NT Window. "We as
a company have been extremely fortunate in recent years."
NT
Window donated the windows, and Brennan Enterprises provided
the installers. The retail cost for the supplies and labor
would be at least $6,500.
With
the windows in place, David Zappasodi, assistant director of
Arlington's community services department, said the rest of
the repairs can be completed with the $24,500 grant.
The
project will be sent out for bid. Pittman will decide which
one to choose. Once a contractor is selected, the work
should begin about a week later and take about 30 days to
complete. The money comes from $1.4 million in HUD grants
Arlington receives annually to fix low-income homes.
In
recent years, the city has repaired 80 to 90 homes each
year.
Wrong place, wrong time
Pittman has spent the last three years of her life trying to
cope with the slaying of her 23-year-old daughter, Sheena
Perkins. She was killed while sitting in a vehicle outside
an after-hours Arlington nightclub. The shooter was firing
at the driver and struck her instead.
"She
was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong
people," Pittman said.
A
Dallas man was later sentenced to 15 years in prison for the
crime. Her daughter's death, coupled with the death of her
mother the same year, was too much for Pittman to handle.
She was unable to work. Paying the mortgage on her home,
which she bought 10 years ago, also became a challenge.
"I
didn't quite have a nervous breakdown, but I had some
emotional and physical issues," Pittman said. "I had a job
working customer service with Aetna, and it got where I
couldn't deal with people. Some days I can deal with people,
and some days I can't really be around people. It's hard."
But
the impending repairs have given her hope. With the new
windows, she believes that her energy costs may be cut in
half.
For
the two local businesses, the donation may be simply the
beginning. Both are talking about making the donation an
annual event.
"We
would love to have a window block party, where we would go
in and locate a low-income neighborhood where everyone
needed window replacements and where our efforts would be
multiplied," said Ray of NT Window. "We have been working
with Habitat for Humanity for 10 years and would like to
work with them or some other group."
If the
program goes forward, Brennan Enterprises would either work
again with Arlington or another social service organization.
"If
there was a way we could leverage our giving that helps
someone and puts them in a rehab program, that would be
really neat way to help others," Ramey said.
BILL HANNA |
