Rebuilding Together Orange County

Providing a Vital Service

Apr 02, 2002

Among the much appreciated improvements that House Captain Megan Austin and the dedicated DPR Construction team completed at the Valenzuela home last April was installing a smoke alarm - a standard service for RTOC project homes. The generous crew couldn't know how vital that one task would become to Fred and Anne Valenzuela and their children, Lisa and Fred, Jr.
Much of DPR's extensive rehab work on the Valenzuela house focused on creating a wheelchair-friendly environment for 37-year old Fred, Jr., who suffers from cerebral palsy. The 62-member volunteer team widened doorways, replaced carpeting with tile for maneuverability, adapting the shower for accessibility, remodeled much of the kitchen, and more. But it was the smoke alarm that last summer alerted family members to a fire in Fred, Jr.'s room. The fire was quickly extinguished, but as Anne recalls in a letter of thanks to RTOC, "without the alarm, I'm sure more serious matters would have occurred to (Fred, Jr.) and (the) house."
Anne also revealed that her newly rehabbed home had

"renewed" her interest in life. "I'm taking interest in fixing up my home and doing the gardening. Fred, my husband is doing fixing up around the house and Lisa is so thrilled with her rabbits' area - it's so easy to keep clean and they all love it." (DPR volunteers built a rabbit hutch for Lisa's pets.)
What a true difference Rebuilding Together volunteers make in Orange County!