Carlos Vallejo Jr. has affection for his childhood home and gratitude for the roof over his head. He tries not to dwell on the building’s flaws.
“I’m just making it work with what I have,” Vallejo told the team from CG&S Design-Build, who visited Monday with notepads, tape measures and generous hearts.
It didn’t take long for the team to spot the problems with the home, especially for Vallejo, 57, who has relied on a mobility scooter ever since he lost his right arm and right leg in a devastating 2018 fishing boat collision near the Pennybacker Bridge.
The kitchen cabinets are hard for Vallejo to reach. The countertops are designed for a standing cook. A large crack runs across the bedroom floor, which was haphazardly patched together after some foundation work years ago.
From left, Dolores Davis, president of CG&S Design-Build, project manager Danny Scott, and production manager Nathan Morris talk Monday with Carlos Vallejo Jr., who lost an arm and a leg in a 2018 boating accident, about remodeling his house. CG&S Design-Build is doing the work as part of the Statesman Season for Caring campaign.
And on the ceiling, there are stains from a leaky roof. One spot gets so bad that Vallejo, who lives alone, has to move his bed whenever it rains so he can set down a bucket to collect the water.
Learning about Vallejo through the Statesman’s Season for Caring campaign, CG&S President and General Manager Dolores Davis decided this aging home near North Pleasant Valley Road was the place where she could make the biggest difference in someone’s life this year.
“There’s a definite need,” she said. “There’s accessibility issues. It’s East Austin, which is my roots and my parents’ roots,” Davis said. And her parents, Clarence and Stella Guerrero, who founded the renovation company she now runs, had a long history of making homes safer and more accessible for clients with disabilities.
CG&S Design-Build project manager Danny Scott takes some measurements in the home of Carlos Vallejo Jr.
“I grew up with that, and I definitely have a soft place in my heart for that kind of need,” Davis said.
CG&S Design-Build will offer its design and construction services to Vallejo at no cost, pairing its contributions with donations it hopes to line up from other partners and suppliers.
In fact, this will be the fifth time CG&S Design-Build has donated to Season for Caring. Last year, it added a wheelchair ramp and did many home repairs for a mother with multiple sclerosis. It built an accessible bathroom for a double amputee in 2018. It remodeled the condominium of a couple with developmental delays in 2017. In 2016, it built an accessible home for a veteran who uses a wheelchair.
The Statesman’s Season for Caring program helps hundreds of families each year through local nonprofit agencies. Vallejo was nominated by Meals on Wheels Central Texas, which delivers care that empowers neighbors by promoting dignity and independence.
“There’s a definite need,” CG&S Design-Build President Dolores Davis said of remodeling Carlos Vallejo Jr.’s home. “There’s accessibility issues.”
Fixing the roof and replacing the flooring are obvious must-haves. But the main event will be the kitchen renovation, turning the heart of the home into a fully accessible space. The CG&S team hasn’t finalized a design yet, but it could include replacing the top cabinets with open shelving that Vallejo could better access with his reach extender; replacing the lower cabinets with drawers or cabinet pull-outs; ensuring Vallejo can comfortably reach countertops for food prep and storage areas in the pantry; and installing the dishwasher that was already provided through Season for Caring donations.
“Anything that can be done for me is awesome,” said Vallejo, humbled and elated by the brigade of do-gooders intent on fixing up his home.
Indeed, the sign in Vallejo’s bedroom, above a hat rack decorated with fishing lures, said it all:
Thankful
Grateful
Blessed
While Vallejo’s biggest need will be taken care of by CG&S Design-Build, the firm will be looking for tradespeople to help them with the job, including a roofer. Vallejo also needs a new mobility scooter, better-fitting prosthetic devices, a ceiling lift, a housekeeping service and a more accessible vehicle.
To find out more about Vallejo or to give an item on his wish list, contact Meals on Wheels Central Texas, 512-476-6325, mealsonwheelscentraltexas.org.
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About Season for Caring
The Statesman will be sharing the stories of all 12 Season for Caring families throughout the holiday season. Find more stories and information at statesman.com/seasonforcaring.
All donations are being matched up to $500,000 by the Sheth family through Christmas Day. You can donate online or use the coupon on Page 2B and mail it to Austin Community Foundation, c/o Statesman Season for Caring, 4315 Guadalupe St., Suite 300, Austin, TX 78751. Make checks payable to “Statesman Season for Caring.”
Use the form below or click here: https://statesmansfc.kimbia.com/statesmanseasonforcaring
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: CG&S Design-Build to renovate home for Season for Caring recipient