A Merseyside pensioner's squalid home was transformed after the huge efforts of kind volunteers and donations from the public.
The woman, called Irene, was living in a cold, damp and dangerous home in Huyton. She was using a tiny electric heater to try and keep her property warm after the gas supply had been turned off, with no central heating either.
Her front and back doors were hanging off, making the house even colder and there were holes in her walls. Irene's situation was flagged up by a concerned neighbour and the issue was brought to the attention of James Anderson, who runs the Depher Community Interest Company.
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Depher is a heating and plumbing outfit that works to help people who are living in squalid conditions and cannot afford to maintain properties. After seeing the state of the property Irene - who has health conditions - was living in, James said he was worried she may not survive the winter if things didn't improve for her.
James put out a call for help and donations on social media and was soon overwhelmed with offers from companies and individuals who all wanted to help fix Irene's home up for the winter. Depher also raised thousands of pounds for Irene's home after her story was shared in the media.
This weekend, Depher and a host of volunteers and others set to work trying to make Irene's home safe, warm and habitable in time for Christmas. The work is not fully completed and new front and back doors are soon to be installed, but already Irene's home is looking completely different.
Speaking about Irene's response, James said: "She did get a bit emotional, she was nearly crying. She said 'is this all for me? It feels like someone actually loves me.'"
Explaining the work so far, James said: "It was a long and tiring weekend but Irene is really chuffed with what we have done so far. She has new carpets fitted, a new electric fire installed and she finally has a working boiler, which means she has proper heating and hot water.
"We've also installed a new hob to cook on, made sure her bathroom is working properly with new taps and completed many repairs around the house. Once the the front door and back door are finished, we will put a new floor in the bathroom."
As well as the house transformation, James and his team paid off an existing debt to ensure the gas supply could be re-started and even bought her a Christmas Tree for her front room."
James added: "Irene has had a tough time and we want to make sure she has a Christmas to remember. We are going to get a big Christmas shop in for her too."
If you would like to contribute to help with the work Depher does, you can do so here.
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