A World War II veteran was surprised Wednesday when the St. Cloud community came together to help one of their neighbors.
- Osceola Council on Aging-related group builds ramps
- Group says they have at least 40 more requests to build ramps
One screw at a time, the Helping Hands Homebound Heroes group in Osceola County teamed up to help a senior veteran in need.
Walter Roshetski, a World War II Air Corp Veteran, has lived and loved Osceola County since the early 90s.
“There used to be cowboys and countryside, cattle and ranchers!” Roshetski said.
As the county's vast landscape has changed over the years, so has Roshetski.
“I got a few yanks of the rope from the devil, and he was pulling but I was holding on someplace!” Roshetski said.
Recently Roshetski fell, and then fell ill at the hospital. When he returned home he was unable to get up the stairs at the entrance of his St. Cloud Home.
The Osceola Council on Aging found out he was struggling to get inside his home. They rushed to help their neighbor, building a new ramp to help him get into his home.
“Out of every four people who need help one of them needs a ramp. This is something that is going to grow and grow,” said Larry Bellisle from the Osceola Council on Aging.
Already in Osceola County, the Helping Hands Homebound Heroes have received 40 more requests to build ramps. To keep up with the request rate, they plan to build a new one every month.
Each ramp costs about $1,700 just in materials. For now, the concern is the program may run out of funds before they provide ramps to all veterans in need.
Until then however, Helping Hands Homebound Heroes is working with Home Depot to build the ramps cost free for those they help. Roshetski says he is very grateful for their continued efforts.
“I can’t thank them enough. There are no words. No, this is too much,” Roshetski said.