Wyomingites Just Show Up

Her name has been changed for privacy.

Ruth had a hole in the side of her house.

Not a metaphorical hole. An actual hole.

She’s in her 80s, lives independently in Cheyenne and gets by on a limited income. She was trying to solve what might sound like a small home repair before it turned into something much bigger.

About a year ago, Ruth had the steps and deck on the side of her house rebuilt. It was work that needed to be done, but when the old structure came off, it exposed the opening in the stucco where it had been attached to the house.

And this wasn’t just cosmetic.

The hole extended into her garage and touched the area around her electrical box. Keeping weather and moisture out mattered.

So Ruth did what you’re supposed to do.

She started making calls.

She reached out to community resources. She called contractors. She kept trying.

Eventually, Ruth called AARP Wyoming.

And we tried too.

We made a few calls on her behalf. One program wasn’t quite the right fit. Another had money available, but didn’t have a staff person available at the moment to help move the project forward.

Nobody was doing anything wrong.

Ruth’s problem just happened to fall into one of those gaps that sometimes exist between programs, funding, staffing and what someone actually needs right now.

Meanwhile, we all know winter isn’t going to wait.

So I said, “Let me come look.”

And I brought along my husband and AARP Volunteer Bill. He is a retired engineer - one of those ever-so-useful individuals to have around who do things right. 

I told Ruth before we got there: if Bill looked at it and thought we could fix it ourselves, AARP Wyoming would take care of it. 

He looked.

We could.

So off to Menards we went.

About $55 in foam board with stucco coating, waterproofing materials and a vapor barrier later, we went back and fixed the hole. The wall is protected. The area around her electrical box is no longer exposed to the weather.

And Ruth has one less thing to worry about heading into winter. 

We offered to come back one more time, remove the extra goop and paint it to match, but she said, “The spot isn’t that important.  Looking at it made me think of buying some artificial moss at the dollar store and a few artificial flowers to blend into the surroundings. That would make it part of my environment, a little imperfect.”