Jim White was the subject of a two-part series in the Frontiersman in February, dealing with the loss of his legs and the ensuing medical and financial nightmare it created in his life. Nelson, knowing nothing of Jim’s story, happened to write a letter that appeared in one of those issues decrying what he saw as injustices in the Social Security system.
White noticed they were both running into trouble with the same system. Nelson, a minister, trained social worker and part-time real estate agent, said White called him up and he later went to meet him.
  
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Nelson noticed another thing — Jim really needed a house. In the past, Jim has said he recognizes that fact as well. His trailer home is 50 years old and has been in use long past the generally accepted lifespan of such homes. The roof has a steady leak nobody can seem to fix. He’s cobbled together ramps and contraptions to make it wheelchair accessible.
He’s managed to get some work done on his bathroom, which, until recently, his wheelchair couldn’t access, necessitating the use of a cart he fashioned from an old children’s toy. He said he found the flooring he used at the dump and the bathtub by the side of the road with a sign declaring it to be “free.”
But handicapped as he is, White can’t take on work or risk losing his state-provided health care. He and Nelson tried to see if the television show “Exteme Makeover Home Edition” would take up White’s case. They haven’t heard back. And they’ve looked into various state and federally funded housing assistance programs. They doubt they’ll have much success, but Nelson says they’ll jump through the hoops just the same. They’ve already talked to staff members of U.S. Rep. Don Young and U.S. Sens. Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski.
It’s a topic that gets Nelson fired up.
“The social systems we have in place — he falls through every crack,” Nelson said. And don’t get him started on Medicaid’s income restrictions. “The systems that are supposed to be in place to help us harm us.”
So, Nelson said, he’s going a different route to help his friend. He’s already talked to the Mat-Su Homebuilders’ Association, which has agreed to line up labor to construct White a home. They’ve picked out a floor plan — a modest, ranch-style home with enough room for White, his wife and his children.
But they still need money — probably $100,000 or so — for materials and equipment.
“We’re now at the point where we need to have people make donations,” Nelson said. “We’re going to try to put together various types of fundraising activities.”
Toward that end, the United Protestant Church in Palmer has designated White as the first recipient of its newly formed UPC/Low Cost Housing Fund.
Nelson said he’s blown away by how much work Jim puts in to do for himself. White — who has always been a tinkerer — loves to talk about his various projects. He’s changed the tires on his wheelchair so it can get around in the mud. He’s wired it up with a cigarette lighter-style outlet to power electronic gadgets. And he’s dreaming up something to put on his stumps so he can walk around in the woods, “like a gorilla” without too much pain.
And, Nelson said, he’s been in Jim’s shoes before. His own father was disabled.
“We lived on Social Security enough to starve to death on it, my dad used to say.”
And, like White, Nelson has Peripheral Artery Disease, which is why he walks with a cane. Social Security has cut him off in the past as well.
“I have had to ask people to help me out,” he said. “I had to cut back on everything.”
How does White feel about all this?
“I feel strange asking people for anything. It’s not my normal way of doing things,” he said. Regarding the normal recipients of new homes on shows like “Extreme Home Makeover,” he said, “to me they look like they’re up there with Mother Theresa and I look at myself and say, ‘Who am I? I’m nobody.’”
And then he changes the subject, talking about the ramps he put on his property and an idea he has for fusing two swim fins into one that he might be able to use to swim like a seal or a dolphin.
At one point in their conversation, White mentioned that he finally got hold of a big roll of Visqueen, which, along with some old tires, he hoped would finally do away with that pernicious leak.
Nelson asks if maybe he should go home with White to lend a hand. White gave him a quizzical look, pointing out that with his cane Nelson probably shouldn’t be up on a ladder.
“I figure that it’s probably best that I be on the roof,” he said. “I’ll put less pounds per square inch on it.”
Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.
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