Disabled Veteran Seeks Government Grant For Family Home Repairs

by Gilbert Burrell
(Philadelphia, PA, USA)

My name is Gilbert A. Burrrell. I am 55 years old and unmarried. I'm a disabled veteran looking for grant money to repair my home

I currently live at 5846 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA in the home that my parents purchased over 50 years ago.

I am a disabled veteran on Social Security disability of $1,338 plus VA disability of $243 per month. My credit is very, very bad.

The current house heater here does not heat the entire house well. Keeping the heat on 70 degrees gets me gas bills of nearly $500 per month in the winter.

The local gas company (PGW) said I really need a new heater with new ducts, as many rooms don't have ducts at all. Keeping the heat on 70 degrees I still need a space heater for my bedroom.

To top off the heater problem the bathroom only has a makeshift shower that does not work and leaks on the floor below on tiles that are coming up being saturated with so much water. So I take sponge baths for cleaning my body. I really need the bathroom upgraded.

Earlier this month I completed hopefully radiation treatment for cancer, but my weak heart and Peripheral Vascular Disease make trying to go back to work very hard as my walking is very limited.

My father is deceased and my mother lives in a retirement home in Delaware. I pay the taxes on the house. I don't have the money to get a new heater and upgrade the bathroom and am searching to see if there is any grant money available.