HOUSTON – She spent her life caring for others, making sure her communities needs are met. Now, she’s the one in desperate need of help.
Earnestine Brown, 86, is a beloved fixture in the Acres Homes community, going on five decades strong.
Now, she’s battling multiple health issues and her once welcoming home is crumbling around her.
Her longtime friend, Sally Retzloff, who lives in the Dallas area, contacted the “Spencer Solves It” team to see about getting her some help. She took KPRC 2 Anchor Andy Cerota inside the home to show us the harsh realities Brown faces every day.
“On the outside, it looks great. I was even impressed, and I was like, ‘Oh girl, that looks good.’ But you go inside, and we have problems. She puts paper in the door because the door frames are misaligned. You can see paper in the crack down there. It’s not level. The whole house is leaning. You walk and you fall this way,” Retzloff said.
For Brown, the homes she’s lived in for more than 50 years in Acres Homes is now filled with hazards that make everyday life a struggle.
“She came up the step the other day and she hit the ground, and she laid in here for quite a while before she could get herself up. She used the chairs to get herself up but she really hurt herself. This house is not senior friendly at all,” Retzloff said.
The bathroom lacks basic safety features, like handrails leaving Brown vulnerable every time she moves around.
“I try to make sure that she’s taken care of the best way I can, but I live out of town and that’s the whole problem,” Retzloff said.
Despite facing breast cancer, heart issues, diabetes, and now kidney and liver cancer and with very little family left in the area to help her, Brown’s faith remains strong.
“I don’t have any doubt in my mind hearing that this cancer business is going to get away from me. See, Satan is the one who desires you to be sick, not God,” Brown said.
Retzloff has been helping to pay the mounting medical bills but without a Medicare supplement, the expenses are overwhelming.
“I know her bills. I know when she’s struggling with stuff. She is nickel and dimed every time she goes to the doctor. $120 here, $120 there. Any test she gets. I thank God for her. My children are the most important things to me and parents. She was there for my children and my parents,” Retzloff said.
Retzloff felt like she had nowhere else to turn about getting Brown the help she so desperately needs to make her home a place of safety, stability, and comfort once again.
“She’s a blessing to others. You feed people. You let people stay at your house. You do everything for everybody. And that’s what I love so much,” Retzloff said.
KPRC 2 spoke to The Restoration Team, a local home repair and disaster response non-profit, one of our community partners that fixes homes for Houstonians in need.
Retzloff has already started the application process on behalf of Brown.
We’ll continue to follow her journey and update you every step of the way.
Brown’s story shines a light on the broader implications of seniors in our community about what resources are available to help seniors facing similar challenges.
Click on the following link for services and resources: www.houstonhealth.org/services/aging/resources