Hammer & Nails project restores Massillon woman's mobility, honors deceased daughter

MASSILLON – George Helmreich used to joke that his most frequent view of his wife was the back of her head as she headed out the door to go somewhere.

That's not the case anymore. Leg weakness has made it more difficult for his wife, Jerri, to leave their Massillon home.

"Some days are more successful than others," he said. "Physical limitations affect you and she is a little more housebound than she normally would be."

Helmreich said his wife, who uses a walker and sometimes a wheelchair, is usually able to navigate the four steps on their home's porch but going back up them was a struggle.

"She dreaded going up those front steps," the retired Washington High School English teacher and alumnus said. "We only have four steps. To a lot of folks that would not be intimidating but to someone with weakness in one leg it's scary."

Usually, Helmreich was able to help his wife take on the steps but sometimes he had to rely on help from neighbors.

As it became harder and harder for Jerri to get up the steps, Helmreich turned to Hammer & Nails for help.

"I was aware of Hammer & Nails. I had read in the paper with regard to some of the work they had done to renovate homes in Stark County and I called them and asked if this was something they could help us out with," he said.

Hammer & Nails was ready to give Jerri — who was the founder of the Launching Pad school in the early 1980s and director of the Malone University Child Development Center when she retired in 2013 — her freedom back.

The organization secured funding to place a new aluminum wheelchair ramp on the the home to allow Jerri to more easily leave and return.

A godsend that changed a person's life overnight

George Helmreich calls the ramp a godsend.

"We just couldn't continue on like this," he said. "It's made it much easier for Jerri to get into the house and leave the house."

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His wife is currently in a rehabilitation center working on her strength, he said. She also is recovering from a broken bone in her hand. She hopes to return to their home soon.

Sara Handy, community relations representative for Hammer & Nails, said the simple act of installing a ramp is life-changing.

"A ramp can just be a ramp but it is so much more than that for our homeowners. Before they couldn't step outside. We all had a sense of that during COVID. The work can be done in one day and their life has changed overnight," Handy said.

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The funding for the Helmreichs' ramp was secured through a grant dubbed Project Leave No One Behind from the Health Foundation of Greater Massillon. The $4,288 helped to cover the majority of the project.

The funding was targeted for health and wellness-related projects.

Hammer & Nails is a nonprofit outreach ministry that aims to help low-income Stark County homeowners with home-related issues.

Handy said the group's target audience is elderly and disabled residents. It aims to improve their quality of life.

"Our push is helping with preservation, upkeep and health-related home repairs," she said.

Besides Canton, Massillon is the group's largest consumer of its services.

"It's really nice to use dollars from Massillon in Massillon," Handy said. "I think just because we are in Canton oftentimes helping with city code violations people think we only work in Canton, but we are all over Stark County."

The nonprofit, Handy said, has a long waiting list, but it does all it can to help everyone, especially the elderly and disabled.

"Many are older homeowners, who can't do (the work) or can't afford it," Handy said. "We are trying to create a true forever home so they don't have to go to a nursing home since they don't have accessibility because of their changing bodies."

Handy said the ramps are the gift that keeps on giving.

The metal wheelchair ramps can last decades, she said, adding when a homeowner no longer needs the ramp, it can be used by another Hammer & Nails client.

A serendipitous relationship

Hammer & Nails receives numerous applications for help but the Helmreichs' has special connections to the organization.

"It's really special the way it all worked out," she said. "In a lot of ways, there were connections that we didn't even realize. The way this project kind of worked out is more of a story than our typical application for assistance homeowners."

The Helmreichs suffered the loss of their daughter, Stacy Gardner, in a vehicle crash in 2015.

The ramp, Handy said, was not only a new lease on life for Jerri Helmreich but also a tribute to their greatest gift, their daughter.

The Jackson Township mother of two was killed in a fiery six-vehicle crash on the Ohio Turnpike on July 31, 2015, as she and her family returned home from a Pittsburgh amusement park. Her children sustained cuts and bruises, while Gardner's husband, Mike, was severely burned trying to help his wife escape the wreckage.

Gardner worked at a number of places as a licensed professional clinical counselor, including the Crisis Center in Canton and at Aultman North Canton Medical Group.

She was involved in a number of other organizations outside of her professional life, including serving in the children's ministry, Alopecia Areata Support Group and participating in outreach activities through the church and community.

She also served as president of the Massillon Educational Loan Foundation.

In addition to the ramp, the organization enlisted the help of Jackson High School seniors to spruce up the landscape around the Helmreichs' home. They planted flowers donated by Geissinger's Plant Hut and tidied up the landscaping.

The students were participating in a service day hosted by the school.

More: Meaningful gift comes out of tragedy

"Their home is so beautiful and you know that they put a lot of work into their landscaping but over time because of the situation it is harder and harder to do it," Handy said. "These student volunteers put in a lot of work to make the place look beautiful in honor of Stacy."

Helmreich is grateful for the help from Hammer & Nails and has offered to help pay it forward by working with the group in the future, Handy said.

"It just means so much," he said. "The executive director worked with Stacy. There was a connection so it was another serendipitous moment that we weren't aware of. Seeing that connection made it feel extra special."

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Hammer & Nails project blessing for Helmreich family of Massillon