Couple hire homeless to help restore home

By EMMILY N. BRISTOL

VIEW STAFF WRITER

While looking for a location for his new TV repair shop, Joe Perlman spotted a diamond in the rough.

His rough gem is a house, built in 1948, at 50 W. Pacific Ave. Perlman remembers it catching his eye after passing it several times.

"I kept getting drawn to it," Perlman said.

He and his wife, Jill Perlman, decided to take a look at the property, despite its haggard appearance.

"It was covered with graffiti ... and there were abandoned cars in the back yard," he said.

But, Jill Perlman said, "We saw potential here."

The house had been empty for about a year when they purchased it. Joe is a self-proclaimed, do-it-yourselfer who enjoys the challenge of fixing up old houses as a hobby.

However, the house he bought had more than just restoration in its future.

After purchasing the house, Joe noticed a homeless man named Kelly had been sleeping in the back yard among the abandoned debris. The new owners learned from Kelly that several of the homeless people in the neighborhood were getting employment through Labor Express, just down the street on Lake Mead Drive. Joe said he decided to use laborers from the agency to try and give the homeless in the area a "hand up instead of a hand out."

Through working with the homeless laborers, the Perlmans discovered many of them were eating at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church across the street. While St. Timothy's doesn't have a food pantry per se, the church participates in a program called Friends in the Desert.

The 4-year-old program incorporates several different organizations throughout Henderson that provide food and fellowship to anyone who wants it.

The program is staffed by volunteers and relies on food donations. Father Lloyd Rupp of St. Timothy's said the program is available to any person who's seeking a meal or the company of fellowship. He estimates the food program serves between 60 and 90 people on an average day.

Rupp said he works with many homeless people living in the vicinity of the church.

"Homeless (people) provide the bulk of the day work force," he said.

St. Timothy's offers many programs to assist the homeless, such as help with finding jobs or housing. Rupp also said he refers people to work placement agencies.

"I just looked out our front door and saw a need," he said.

When Rupp learned about the Perlman's project to restore one of the original townsite houses, he said, "I want to celebrate what they are doing across the street."

So far, the Perlmans have repainted half of the house and cleared away the debris outside. It is important to Joe that the house revert back to its original appearance as much as possible.

Through work on the house, he has discovered hand-made nails from the 1800s and hand-milled plywood in the walls. Under the carpet in the front room, the Perlmans discovered hardwood floors.

For the Perlmans, the added challenges make the project more exciting.

They plan to have much of the restoration completed around the beginning of 2001 and hope to open the shop sometime in January or February.