Judy's receives A Brush with Kindness during JRCWP

You can call it serendipity that brought Judith Schell and A Brush with Kindness together. While leaving her East Side St. Paul home this summer, she was approached by a Habitat staff member in the neighborhood and left her with a brochure.

"Of course I had heard of Habitat, but I thought they just built houses," she says. She knew the organization did good work but couldn’t believe they’d help her out with her home maintenance. "It was a godsend." Faced with the prospect of painting her house and removing an unstable, dilapidated garage, she knew she couldn’t do it herself. She’s a single working mom whose two sons have grown up to have their own lives.

In late June, Habitat helped Judith obtain a dumpster for phase one of her project: deconstructing the unused garage. She arranged the rest herself, enlisting the help of her family – two sons, six brothers, a nephew, and a few neighbors to do the heavy lifting.

"I was a nervous wreck, because nobody really knew how to do it," she remembers. But with all the help, what they had thought would be a two day project ended up taking just a few hours. "It was unbelievable. I thought to myself, ‘I’m so lucky, and so thankful.’" Now that the old building is gone, "It’s uplifting," she says. "A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and I feel good, just absolutely wonderful."

Phase two will include painting, something that hasn’t been done in decades on her century-old home. "We’re all much older than we were 20 years ago," she says. She chose a fern green for the new coats of paint, replacing a light blue and signifying a fresh start. "This is an investment in my future," she continues. "I’m anxious to get the house looking better, and to plant some flowers out front."

Without this support, Judith concedes that she probably would have had to sell her home, where she’s lived for 34 years. "Most of us have been on the block for years…I even went to school right in the neighborhood." She says her neighbors are friendly, and everyone looks out for one another. Most of all, it’s comfortable. "As long as I can afford to be here, I’ll be here," she concludes. "This is where I live."