Home's needed repairs taken on by volunteers

The peeling paint had been causing problems.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- There were no cameramen, no celebrities and no multiteam construction crews, but to Jeanne and William Smith, the makeover of their North Side home was extreme in its own right.
According to Mrs. Smith, she and her husband had been cited several times by city officials for chipped and peeling paint on their Fairgreen Avenue home, and for various other violations, such as cracks in the pavement around the home.
Mrs. Smith said she obtained some free paint and paid someone $800 to do the labor of putting it on. When the paint ran out, however, that individual stopped doing the work, leaving her with a multicolored home that still had peeling paint in some areas.
Mrs. Smith said losing the $800 and still not having the house painted was difficult. She said making the necessary improvements on the house and keeping up with other monthly expenditures such as prescription medication would be virtually impossible for her and her husband.
Turning to the community
So she decided to take her dilemma to a town hall meeting in the city. That is where she met Patrick McBane, a member of Youngstown Community Fellowships.
McBane said he heard the Smiths' story and decided something had to be done.
"The city cited her five times, but what they were not hearing her say was that she needed help," he said.
McBane solicited the help of other Youngstown Community Fellowship members and members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, along with donated paint from the Northside Citizens Coalition, and set out to do the work the Smiths' home desperately needed.
More than 10 volunteers spent Friday afternoon and evening scraping paint. More than 20 volunteers came out Saturday and spent the better part of the day painting and repairing the porch and other parts of the house.
McBane said the group is almost done but will likely have to return Saturday to finish because they do not have the appropriate ladders to reach the top of the house.
No matter when the work is completed, Mrs. Smith said she is happy someone took the time to help her family.
"I am just so thankful for these guys; this is really nice," she said. "I did not know when I would be able to get this done."