July 10, 2008

 

 

So when she heard about a single mom in Mabton undergoing similar hardships, she didn't hesitate to lend a helping hand.

Armed with a paintbrush, she rushed over to Maria Pimentel's new home Wednesday with her son, Pierce. There, she painted a mural on the bedroom walls belonging to Pimentel's 10-year-old son, Allen, who suffers from Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.

"I know the challenges that go along with (single parenting) and I figured I would use what I have for a gift to help out," Brouwer said.

Brouwer is an artist who travels around the Tri-Cities painting artwork on residential and commercial walls through her company, Naked Wall. Her son, 14, occasionally helps her with hammering and carving woodcuts, especially when she does volunteer work.

The Diocese of Yakima Housing Services contacted Brouwer to ask if she would add an artistic flair to a bedroom in Pimentel's home-in-progress, which Pimentel has been building for the past 12 weeks through New Life Homes, a DYHS program that helps low-income families build their own homes.

"My theory on life is that we're here to serve one another and take care of each other's needs whenever there is one," Brouwer said.

New Life Homes requires families to invest 250 hours of "sweat equity" work, which includes helping with construction and attending home ownership education classes in order to own one of the 22 units on the property, which comes with a park.

The "sweat equity" work is significant in reducing the price of the home. Depending on the size of the home, families generally pay between $500 and $700 monthly, which includes taxes and insurance, said Isabel Garcia, DYHS home ownership coordinator. The agency also helps families obtain state grants.

Once Brouwer learned that Allen loves outer space, Disney characters, and murals, she thought up the perfect decorations for his new bedroom: a mural of stars and clouds underneath nailed woodcuts of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Thumper.

When Garcia brought Allen home from day care while his mom was still at work, Brouwer watched giddily as Allen wandered around his room, touching the murals as though to see if they were real.

"Nothing gets me more excited than the high of seeing a kid come into a room after I've finished painting it," she said.

Later, she met Allen's mother for the first time. An employee at Washington Beef, Pimentel is a single mother of four children who has been renting a cramped apartment for her family for the past eight years. In August, she will be moving into her first real house.

Pimentel said the hard work was worthwhile.

"I'll finally have my own house without having a man buying it for me," she said. "I feel proud of myself."

She said she is grateful for Brouwer's generosity and talents, and that she is looking forward to a new life. Brouwer said she was glad for the opportunity to help Pimentel along the way.

"I don't believe in coincidences," Brouwer said. "God put me in contact with these people for a reason."

© 2008 - Yakima Herald-Republic

Source: Yakima Herald-Republic