wfn.org | United Methodist pastor offers rent relief for at-risk families

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct. 24, 2003  News media contact: Fran Walsh7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn. 
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A UMNS Report
By Fran Walsh*

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Jon Laughlin is a true do-it-yourselfer. The United
Methodist pastor uses his hands to renovate rental units near his home, and
his heart to help those facing financial emergencies. 

Laughlin and his wife, Judi, originally wanted to help homeless families, but
soon saw the need of working people for low-income housing. 

"People aren't getting livable wages," says Laughlin, pastor of Grace United
Methodist Church. 

The couple learned that a piece of property, once part of an alcohol
treatment center, was available; however, it was in disrepair. When the
Laughlins visited the site with an appraiser, they began to see great
potential. 

In August 2002, the couple decided to purchase the property. They renamed it
"Brave Heart Plaza Apartments," echoing their appraiser's description of them
as "brave hearts" for taking on such a project.

Laughlin, who had spent more than 20 years as a Volunteer in Mission, was a
veteran renovator. He calls his wife "a decorator by nature." Both were
unsure of how much work the 12 units would require. The plumbing and
electricity had not been updated since 1940; the plaster walls needed repair.
Former tenants had turned the area into a "flophouse," as Laughlin recalls,
with "bottles hidden in the walls."

With the help of a second mortgage on their home, they spent $45,000 to
restore the apartments. A grant of $18,000 from the city of Cheyenne helped
with exterior repairs. Each apartment is furnished with basic amenities, and
rent includes all utility costs. Laughlin says he wanted to make the property
affordable but also to "make it decent."

Cheyenne offers few other options for low-income housing. As is true in other
cities, an economic downturn often fuels a crisis for working people, many of
whom need affordable housing immediately, according to Laughlin. "They'll
walk in off the street saying, 'I need a place tonight.'" He recently placed
a family from Mexico who had a 2-day-old baby.

A number of Laughlin's tenants come from the nearby Warren Air Force base.
Since the off-base housing allowance is only $375, airmen like Dana Oguma say
their military pay doesn't go far in today's market. Oguma found that rents
average $750 a month in the area. At the Brave Heart Plaza Apartments, he
pays $350 in rent, including utilities. 

Without this option, Laughlin is convinced some people would be "sleeping in
cars, with no place to go." Laughlin hopes to have all 12 units restored by
January, 18 months after his start date. He says he and his wife have been
pleasantly surprised by some of the ripple effects of their investment. 

They also conduct "a dumpster ministry," getting to know people who search
trash cans near the property, offering them food, and giving them aluminum
cans and other scraps they might be able to sell. Tenants often are able to
supplement their income with the help of a day labor placement agency nearby.

The best reward for his labor is "knowing people have a nice, clean place to
stay and are treated with decency," Laughlin says. He hopes others will join
in efforts to relieve the housing crisis. "If we're related," he says, "we
need to look out for each other." 
 
More information is available by contacting Laughlin at
pastorjon@bresnan.net.

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*Walsh is coordinating producer for United Methodist News Service.

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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