Living alone doesn’t mean being alone.
Or, at least it doesn’t have to.
The sad reality is that a lot of elderly people are left to fend for themselves.
Yes, they may have roofs over their heads but that doesn’t mean things are easier.
Gean LeVar lived with her husband and has lived her life in peace.
However, on one fateful day, the life she knew would be turned upside down.
Her husband suddenly passed away.
It was an abrupt end to their 58-year marriage that Gean was not prepared for.
She called for help but when the first responders finally arrived, they weren’t prepared for what they saw.
Living in old age and virtually by themselves, the elderly couple has left the house unlivable.
Maybe with the dwindling strength, they failed to repair parts of the house or left anything that involved heavy lifting.
Maybe they had difficulties affording maintenance.
The authorities were left with no choice but to condemn the house.
Condemning a property means it should be vacated as it is deemed unsafe.
A shocking reality for LeVar.
In just one day, she lost her husband, their house, and practically the only life she knew.
With her age and with no family, she was looking down the road of building everything back from scratch.
The couple lived alone and it’s only normal that she felt alone at a time like this.
Except she wasn’t.
Somewhere, someone deeply cared about her and her well-being.
One of her neighbors is Carmen Silva.
The two didn’t know each other well, maybe because LeVar hasn’t been going out due to her age.
But Silva knew better.
She knows that the neighborly thing to do is to help out a neighbor when they needed it the most.
LeVar had no family or house.
So Silva provided them for her.
Even if they live in a small three-bedroom house with eight children, Silva made her feel welcomed.
This is how Silva taught her kids how to take care of the elderly.
Since then, LeVar didn’t feel alone. From a house without anything to a bustling living room and a full dining room.
But this was only the start of LeVar’s recovery.
A volunteer from Operation Enduring Gratitude learned that LeVar’s husband was from the Navy, and they offered their services to repair the house.
Together with volunteers, the organization worked non-stop to make LeVar’s house beyond livable.
They replaced pieces and refurbished walls.
They installed new surfaces and took out anything that wasn’t needed.
Suddenly, the home she once knew became a house suitable for her needs.
She may have felt alone back then but with Silva’s family and an organization that cared for people like her, LeVar can now redefine what “family” truly means.
LeVar plans on sharing.
She wants to share the house with the person who looked after her so Silva and her family will have more space to use.
It will also make it easier for Silva to help LeVar out, especially with chores.
That one fateful day may have changed LeVar’s life for the worse, but with the help of other people, it also became the start of her new and better life.
Learn more about the incredible generosity that gave LeVar a new family in the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
