Vitela Project
July 2011
Hillsboro, OR

Ms. Vitela lives in a mobile home in Hillsboro with her 15 year old son. He is her youngest of 9 children, most of whom live in the area, comprising a very tight-knit family. She has a good job, but was unable to address some significant problem areas around her home. She works with a woman named Ms. Hernandez, whose family received a Catalyst roof replacement in Sept. 2009. When Ms. Hernandez heard about the house struggles, she referred Ms. Vitela to us.

This was a wonderful project! Not only did we have the opportunity to successfully address unmet needs around Ms. Vitela’s home, we also got to meet many new friends as we worked side by side with her sons and grandsons! Oh, and by the way, she cooks some of the best authentic Mexican food I’ve had! 

Here are the improvements we accomplished for Ms. Vitela:

* Patched roofing voids, applied new roof coating
* Repaired broken toilet & bathtub/shower 
* Demolished and removed two old rotten & unsafe decks
* Landscaping & skirting repairs for good drainage
* Abatement of giant bee infestation under house (we counted at least 80!)
 
Special thanks to Catalyst volunteer Steven Garza, as well as our many new friends from Ms. Vitela’s family!