Kirby Ward has been working for months to finish remodeling his home in Holland, but he went “totally, totally broke” and was close to being homeless, he said.
Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County and Entergy in Conway are stepping in to help him finish it.
The 25-year-old native of Greenbrier said he still can’t believe how it all played out.
Ward and his wife, Carol, and their two sons, Evan, 6, and Ian, 4, were recently evicted from their apartment in Conway, which he said was caused by their dog repeatedly getting loose and chasing golf carts.
He said he had been working to remodel a house he bought in North Little Rock at the beginning of 2016 and had moved to land he owned in Holland.
“I worked my entire life saving money
to buy this house and the land,” he said. Ward said he spent $20,000 on the house and close to $15,000 to remodel it, thus far.
A roofer, he also worked in the oil field for a few years until work began to slow down, he said. Just over a year ago, Ward got in a car wreck in which he said a woman “T-boned” his vehicle. He said he has lingering neck and back pain because of the accident.
However, Ward said he has worked every day for six or seven months on the home, doing what he can.
“I totally ripped everything out of it — plumbing, wiring, the roof,” he said.
He said the 1,060-square-foot house still needs underpinning, insulation in the attic, several interior doors, ceilings in some of the rooms, and central heat and air.
“I’ve got to hang a few more cabinets. I’ve got to put my refrigerator in; I’ve got to get a stove — I’m supposed to buy a propane stove from a guy for $100. It’s literally hours of work,” he said.
Ward said he was out of money and that he had spent “every dime” of his wife’s two past checks from the Conway Human Development Center, where she is a residential-care technician.
He said he doesn’t have any relatives in Arkansas. “I didn’t have anywhere to go,” he said, adding that the family was on the verge of being homeless. Ward said he spent one night in the unfinished home, but his wife and children stayed elsewhere.
Ward said he called his grandmother, Margaret Bare of Tennessee, and told her his situation.
“I told her we were going to move into this house whether it was livable or not. We didn’t have any heaters for it or anything,” he said. “I told her, ‘I don’t really know what to do. I’m trying to find me a cheap, cheap place for me to go to for about a month till I can get in my home.’”
Bare called Shenel Sandidge of Conway, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County.
“Entergy just happened to call me and wanted to do an end-of-the year project with me; they have 20 workers who are skilled,” Sandidge said.
Sandidge said she and Entergy officials were inspired to help the family in particular because of the children.
“We want to get it livable; secure,” she said.
John Goodson of Vilonia, an engineer assistant for Entergy in Conway, toured the home and will volunteer on the project.
“It needs a lot of work,” he said. “Right now, we’re trying to figure out, hopefully, a way to get heat and air.”
Goodson said the plan for last week was for him and Jared Joslin of Conway, an Entergy employee, to install interior doors, build steps on three sides of the home and put Sheetrock on the ceilings.
“There’s no ceiling inside the house,” he said. Goodson said Ward had put a covering to block the wind. Goodson said Entergy volunteers also wanted to work on the exterior of the house “to keep wind from blowing all the way through it” and add insulation to the attic.
Goodson said he started helping neighbors in Vilonia whose homes were hit in the April 2014 deadly tornado. He and others helped build meter loops for houses, he said, and it motivated him to do more.
“I brought it up to some guys at work, and we just kind of pushed it a little bit far,” he said. “We got to talking about Habitat for Humanity and thought it would be a cool thing to help.”
Goodson said he and other employees joined with Habitat for Humanity of Faulkner County two years ago to help homeowners in Mayflower recover from the tornado.
Sandidge said the Entergy officials’ interest in helping this year “was just at the right time.” Ward agreed.
“I was very grateful; I was very, very grateful,” Ward said. “I couldn’t really believe how it played out. I’ve dedicated my whole life to helping other people; I feel like it kind of came back toward me.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.