As Wagonfield stepped inside the house, she realized that it was cluttered and filthy. The student herself had written a message on the staircase: “We need help.”
Wagonfield thought she was prepared to provide it.
“We got a big group of people together one Saturday and came in (the house) and soon realized it was way, way beyond us,” she said.
So she enlisted the help of Heidi Lamkin, who works for a local branch of cleanup company Steri-Clean. Lamkin and her colleagues nationwide work to turn unlivable houses, especially those affected by hoarding, back into homes.
Lamkin had already hoped to help a family during the holiday season, she said, and the Bishop family was the perfect candidate. Lashaunda Bishop, a single mother of two, has chronic multiple sclerosis, a disease that can affect nearly all of the brain and body’s most important functions.
The 37-year-old was overwhelmed by the mess that had built up while she struggled to function, and Lamkin said this is not unusual among Steri-Clean clients.
“I have learned that most of the people who we’ve helped are some of the greatest people, are some of the smartest people,” Lamkin said. “They’re not lazy. It’s because they’ve had some kind of trauma that leads to depression, and the layers just keep building, the clutter builds, and they get paralyzed.”
Wagonfield said Bishop was very stressed about the upkeep of her home when she was asked how the Ridgeway Elementary family could help.
“While she was embarrassed, she was extremely open to help from anyone to rectify the surroundings for her children,” Wagonfield said.
The plea for help led to “Operation Bishop Family Blessing.”
“We filled one dumpster in about five hours and I ordered a second one,” Lamkin said.
After about two weeks, the renovation work was complete and the family returned Friday to their “new” home.
The kitchen now has new cabinets, the walls are freshly painted, updated plumbing and electrical lines have been installed, and there is a new bathroom that is handicap accessible.
Bishop was overcome with emotion as she toured each rehabbed room in the house.
“I am so excited to be in my new home. It is wonderful. It is my new start,” she said, as more than 50 people consisting of volunteers, friends and neighbors gathered to share in the moment and sing Christmas carols. “This is wonderful blessing and the best Christmas gift I could ask for.”
Wagonfield was brought to tears as she watched Bishop thank all of those who reached out to help the family.
“This is really something special,” she said.
WCPO, a news partner of the Journal-News, contributed to this report.
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