A Roof For Kim

Hello and thanks for looking at our fundraising project.  This is a story about a good friend and neighbor who could really use some help in his struggle to remain on his property here in Crestone, Colorado. His name is Kim (John) Weinstein.  Kim fell on hard times some 12 years ago when he was injured in a work accident. He was self employed and so was not eligible for workers comp from the state.  He had begun building his dream house before his accident and had made pretty good progress, considering he was doing it all pretty much on his own. After the accident he became somewhat depressed and it became difficult to maintain a "normal" life. The dream of finishing his home became more of a nightmare. Kim is a proud person, and resisted any help offered him, except where absolutely necessary.

The Property Owners Association (POA) had ignored the blight that had developed on his property after years of neglect. They demanded he clean up his land and finish his building in a matter of months, or legal action would be taken which would result in his eviction. Friends, including Mike Manthey and myself,  Peter Taylor, stepped up to intervene and were able to buy some time for Kim. Essentially, we have promised that by the end of the Summer, we would have at least a weatherproof shell up and working for Kim to live in.

Then we can remove the old mobile home and straw bale home he has been in (it was to be a temporary dwelling while the home was built, but he has been in it for many years now).  His current living condition is not healthy nor safe.


We have purchased the necessary electrical and plumbing building permits for him (the originals had long expired) and have worked together to clean up the blight around the house, and that has satisfied the POA for now. We have also paid to have new building plans drawn up. This was possible thanks to a wonderful, generous local designer by the name of Janet Woodman who did it for almost nothing to help Kim out.  Indeed we have begun building again and hope to have completed the first floor by Labor Day, 2018. We also want to thank Ben Weeks for his very welcome donation of eight 24' micro-laminated beams, half of which are in the first floor, and the other four will hold up the roof. This is Crestone!

With the good news for Kim that the project has finally started to move again, comes the bad news. He was recently diagnosed with early stage Alzheimers disease. His memory is getting worse daily, but his spirits remain high as he sees his dream house finally start to come together again. His wife has not been able to stay in the house with Kim full time as she earns income for them by doing house and pet sitting but she also is not tolerating the high altitude here as she used to. The smoke from the wood burning stove has also been bad for her. On the good news side is the fact that Kim has finally begun to receive a small monthly disability check, which is allowing him to contribute a little to the project each month (he's applying 3/4 of his income to it). As good as this is, it is no where near enough for us to complete the building before the snows fly.



I think a little background on where we live is in order here. Saguache county is the 7th poorest county in Colorado (out of 64) and resources are limited for housing assistance -  especially of this nature. Alamosa County to our south has a Habitat For Humanity organization as does Chaffee County to our North, but neither can assist outside of their counties. Our little communities of Crestone and the Baca Grande are rife with good-hearted people who are helping with labor where they can, but this does't pay for the materials we need to make this happen.



This is where you come in (you knew this was coming, didn't you?).  We need help with funds to ensure we can put a roof over Kim's head by Fall. We have decided to go with strawbale for the walls, as that is the most cost effective and least technical, and it quite common here in Crestone so finding help should be easier. This said, we are hoping we can get it done for about $10,000. We have spent about $1800 so far on materials for the walls and second level floor. If we could raise $6000 it will help us greatly to keep things moving. Obviously more would make an even greater impact.

Notice in the photo above that we have leveled off the old unfinished concrete wall surfaces to prepare for the strawbale walls.

There is more than a little irony in the fact that I and other friends have traveled off to different countries with Habitat for Humanity to help strangers finally move into their own homes, and yet I have missed seeing my friend, one block away, struggle with the same dilemma with no similar help available for him.

When I told Kim I wanted to do this gofundme request, he was at first reluctant to agree, but as tears appeared in his eyes, I could see how much it means to him to finally be able to settle into a real home after so many years. And it will mean more than you can imagine to those of us helping him.

Thanks for reading this. Hope you can help, even if it's just a few bucks. 

And remember, even if you don't think you can contribute, maybe you know someone who might be able to help out, so please use the "share" buttons here to spread the word about our need.  Hoping you are all happy and safe in your homes. Thanks again!

The Karmic payoff will be huge! (smile)

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The following are photos I took August 11th showing the progress that we are making!

The first of the new lumber is going up, with floor rafters shown sitting on the new walls.

Closer shot showing load-bearing posts in center and some wall detail.

Straw bales will fill the area between the uprights. Kim had to halt construction before he could finish the concrete walls, so there are various heights involved (now capped off with level surfaces). Because of this, the straw bale construction is ideal due to its flexibility in filling in the gaps.  I heard Kim say jokingly the other day, "What was I thinking building an oval shaped house?" (he was smiling)

A little more detail looking through the front door. The floor will be poured concrete, which is one more task that we will have to hire to get done.

Watch for more photos with our updates.