SERVICE PROJECT

Click below to watch video of NARI Greater Chicagoland Chapter receiving the NARI 2011 Chapter Community Project Award for this project.

NARIGC TO THE RESCUE!In late 2009, NARI of Greater Chicagoland (NARIGC) was introduced to a family that none of us will ever forget. The Evans Family.

A friend of the Evans family contacted Lou Manfredini, WGN Radio's "Mr. Fix-It" (he has also appeared on HGTV and on NBC's Today Show), regarding the Evans family and their struggles. Lou is very familiar with NARIGC and forwarded the information to our chapter, knowing we have a "NARI to the Rescue" program for situations like this.

The Evans Family

Mark and Joan Evans are the devoted parents of four children with special needs. Bradley, Grant and Meredith are sixteen-year-old triplets. Bradley and Grant are juniors attending Elk Grove (IL) High School. Meredith is a junior enrolled at Palatine (IL) High School. Brett, their youngest son, just turned 11, and is now in the 6th grade.

Bradley, Grant and Meredith were born three months premature, and within a year of being born, the triplets were diagnosed with varying degrees of cerebral palsy. Once diagnosed, they were enrolled in physical, occupational, and speech therapies. They started school at age three and were educated through their school district's special education program.

Grant's CP is considered the mildest amongst the triplets; however, he still faces his share of challenges. Grant enjoys playing basketball, video games, and helping his family and neighbors with outside chores. Bradley wears leg braces to help him stand and walk with more stability. He enjoys playing baseball, video games, and watching his favorite sports on TV.

Meredith's diagnosis is the most severe as her CP keeps her from walking and talking. Meredith does have a touch-controlled communication device that gives her a voice and enables her to join in conversations (which she doesn't shy away from!). This also allows her to participate in school and other outside activities. Meredith also requires the use of a wheelchair as she is non-ambulatory. She enjoys talking to her friends on the phone, going to the mall, and cheerleading for her school's team.

Brett was diagnosed with autism just before his third birthday. Brett did not speak for a long time; however these days he talks with great enthusiasm and is making great strides in school. Brett began therapy at 18 months old and just like his siblings he continues to receive various therapies. He enjoys singing with his school chorus, swimming and going on bike rides with his dad.

Joan and Mark are very proud of their children. As you can imagine, this family of 6 faces many challenges in their everyday life. Not only do they have a home life filled with all the usual events that keep a family busy, there is the extra preparation and travel time that occurs throughout the week. This includes getting the children ready for school, their therapy after school, arranging schedules for outside activities such as school clubs, Special Olympics, etc.

These parents devote everyday to helping their children grow into happy, independent people. Joan is a stay at home mom running the household. Mark was a mortgage loan officer for many years, but with the downturn of the mortgage industry he lost his job. Within the last 2 years he has been unemployed for a total of approximately 11 months. He just recently took a job offer, however it is not in his field of expertise. Mark is currently in training to educate himself about the job, but he is uncertain as to what the future holds for him at this company.

Even through tough times, Mark and Joan instill the importance of spending time together as a family by organizing outings when and where possible. This couple also heads up a buddy baseball team to include other children with special needs. Their whole family participates in this team.

A typical school day begins with Joan getting up at 5am. She prepares lunches, starts the laundry; writes any necessary notes to Meredith and Brett's teachers and assistants, reviews the days' homework assignments, and so on. Joan awakens Meredith at 6am to start preparing her for the school day before the bus arrives at 7:00 am. Mark assists Joan as much as possible before he leaves for work by 7am. Also at this time the boys are getting ready for school. While Joan drives Bradley and Grant to school (by 7:45am) Brett accompanies her and eats his breakfast in the van. When they arrive back at home, Joan helps Brett finish getting ready for his day at school. Brett boards his bus at 8:30am.

At this point Joan continues her day with household chores, following up with phone calls concerning medical insurance problems (for example, denied therapy coverage for the children), making medical appointments with their specialty doctors, attending appointments at school to resolve any issues or discussing goals set up for each of the children.

The Project

The Evans' home was built in 1960. It is a small three-bedroom ranch with narrow doorways and hallways, 2 very small bathrooms at the time, and a small kitchen area.

The challenge this presented to the family was that it was impossible for Meredith to maneuver through most of the house in her wheelchair. Joan and Mark converted a sun porch into a bedroom for Meredith because it was in the most accessible area of the home. Still, Joan and Mark had to lift Meredith out of her chair into the 4'x10' bathroom in order for her to use the bathroom or bathe since the doorway was narrow and there was no room for the wheelchair inside the bathroom. This was taking a large physical toll on her parents.

The project started simply, by replacing the toilet in the 2nd bathroom which hadn't worked for years. When each family member took turns excitedly sitting on the new, finally working toilet, NARIGC knew it was in for a successful project!

Joel Kristianson, AIA, and NARIGC member, drew four different Universal Design plan possibilities for the expanded bathroom and after consulting with the family, one was chosen. Permits were obtained, the volunteers were lined up, and the project began.

The project entailed knocking out a wall and expanding the bathroom into an unused portion of the kitchen area. New plumbing and heating ducts were roughed in and insulation was installed in the crawlspace.

Next the floor joists were replaced and the bathroom floor was lowered to be at the same level as the rest of the home. The rough carpentry began and the entire bathroom was waterproofed. It was starting to take shape.

The large shower was designed with a wide opening, level floor, multiple anti-scald shower heads, safety grab bars, and water controls that everyone in the family could use. It was finished with beautiful tile work.

An accessible sink with an automatic faucet makes hand washing convenient for everyone in the home and the accessible toilet made everyone in the home safer.

The finishing touches - wide, beautiful wood pocket doors, an additional drain outside the shower, plenty of light fixtures and an exhaust fan - make the room warm, comfortable and extremely functional for members of the family of all abilities.

But it Doesn't End There...

Following the completion of the project, Bob Manion, who painted the bathroom and who is a member of the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America, approached his local Council of PDCA and asked for their help. He wasn't satisfied with simply painting the bathroom. He wanted the entire interior of the house painted so they would feel like they had a new, bright, cheerful home. Bob coordinated five painting contractors to complete the wallpaper removal, wall repair and painting of the whole house.

But wait, there's more! Bill Schneeberger, a member of PDCA who helped paint the house, spoke with his church to try to arrange the purchase of a new, handicapped accessible van to replace their eleven-year-old van they were struggling with. That part of the story is still unwritten, but with the success of the overall project, NARIGC can only hope that a van can be secured....