66-year-old woman battling health issues gets new home in Fort Myers

Reporter: Russ McCaskey Writer: Paul Dolan
Published:

A woman in desperate need of a new home is getting one, thanks to her loving and caring community.

66-year-old Nancy Jackson lost her ability to walk and has respiratory issues. On top of that, her Fort Myers home, built almost 100 years ago, had major issues.

Jackson never asked for help, but Lee Builders Care recognized she needed it. On Friday, she saw the framework of her new home for the first time. Along with the notes of love being left by those involved.

Writing left on the walls in Nancy Jackson’s new home. CREDIT: WINK News

Writing all over the walls of a home isn’t something you would normally do. But these aren’t just any marks; they are messages of love and support. And they are specifically meant for Jackson.

“Every one of them. every one of them,” Jackson said. “I feel so much love around me right now.”

Builders Care sign. CREDIT: WINK News

Lee Builders Care and Christopher Alan Homes partnered to give Jackson what she needed most of all, a new home.

“It was like I had leaks holes in the wall,” Jackson said.

But that wasn’t all that was wrong with Jackson’s home.

Nancy Jackson’s new home. CREDIT: WINK News

Anthony Schutt, the senior vice president of operations with Christopher Alan Homes, spoke with WINK News about damage to Jackosn’s home.

“It was obvious the need, you know, the home she was in was built in 1925. It needed a roof, it needed plumbing, it needed flooring, I don’t think any of the lights were working. It just doesn’t bode well for family experience,” Schutt said.

Justin Thibaut, the president of the Lee Building Industry Association, Builders Care, discussed the repair process.

“As we came in, we started assessing, we came in as a repair job and quickly understood that this needed to be a whole house rebuilt,” Thibaut said.

The home Jackson and her family lived in for over 20 years needed to be torn down.

“So we do everything from a wheelchair-accessible ramp to Ada, bathrooms to HVAC replacements, Roof Repairs, you name it,” Thibaut said.

The framework for Jackson’s new home is finished. On Friday, Christopher Alan Homes, Builders Care, trade workers, and even Kevin Anderson, the mayor of Fort Myers, came out, grabbed a sharpie, and left their positive wishes for Jackson inside the walls.

Kevin Anderson, the mayor of Fort Myers, signing and leaving a note in the building frame. CREDIT: WINK News

“It makes me very proud of our community and our business people to see them all come together collectively and step up and really make a difference in someone’s life,” Anderson said.

It’s a difference that Jackson is sincerely thankful for.

“I know, I’m gonna be so happy in it. And I’m enjoying my new home,” Jackson said. “Thank them all. And I love everyone for doing this for me. Because they really made my dream come true.”

Lee Builders Care is funded by donations and fundraisers. Christopher Alan Homes stepped up and worked with their trade partners helping to fund the project.

Jackson is living in an Airbnb while she waits for her home to be completed, which is expected to happen in March.

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