‘No one ... should ever live like that.’ Officer gives veteran, grandmother redone homes

Army veteran James Sykes lived without water in his rundown house. Melody Clark raised three grandchildren in her house before the roof collapsed. Both got new nearly new homes for the holidays Friday.

Lexington police officer Ryan Holland spent the past three months restoring two dilapidated homes about a block apart on De Porres Avenue. The homes were revealed to Sykes and ClarkFriday afternoon, and each was stunned.

“No one in our community should ever live like that and that’s why it’s important for people to get outside their box, to talk to their neighbors and find out different ways we can help each other, serve each other and be the hands that feed Jesus,” Holland said.

Holland learned of Clark’s damage through church and wanted to help. He discovered the conditions at Sykes’ house while he was working at Clark’s. Both moved out temporarily so he could work.

To complete the jobs, Holland received a $15,000 grant from Home Depot, a $10,000 donation plus furniture, from Ashley HomeStore. Other companies donated labor, products or cash. Dozens of volunteers worked on the houses. The Lexington Fire Department provided new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

Although Clark’s renovations were started a few weeks earlier than Sykes, Holland ended up working on the homes simultaneously. That meant an estimated 80 hours a week, he said.

An estimated $60,000 to $70,000 worth of labor and materials were put in each house, Holland said. Sykes allowed some donations for his house to be used on Clark’s property.

Clark and Sykes were driven by limousine to their refurbished homes where friends and family waited. The groups toured the homes with their owners..

Because of damage and other issues, Holland gutted each home. . He redid all of the plumbing, three-quarters of the electric wiring and created a new kitchen design for Clark and her grandchildren.

“I’ve seen Melody at 15 or 20 different (church) events donating her life to youth in our community and she never once came up to me and told me she needed help or anything like that,” Holland said. “It was someone else who reached out to me and I feel she was deserving to have this done.”

In awe of everything from the decorated Christmas tree to the sectional couch and bunk beds for her grandchildren, Clark said she was blessed.

“I tried to take on things on my own and I realized you can’t do it by yourself,” said Clark, a Sunday school teacher. “I wanted to see that God works miracles and if you wait on him, then he will bring the right people to you. He will make a way out of no way in his own time. It’s not in our time, but his time. And this was the right time for everything and the right season for everything.”

Sykes’ home features new insulation, electric wiring, ceilings and wall studs. For the first time since January 2015, Sykes had running water in his house. The redone house includes a formal living room and a carpeted man cave equipped with a new television.

Sykes, an Army veteran, called the work that Holland did a miracle.

“I think he did a real fine job, a real quick job. It didn’t take very long,” he said.

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "‘No one ... should ever live like that.’ Officer gives veteran, grandmother redone homes."