Helper thrilled with new home
Getting the keys to a new home can be an emotional experience for anyone, but especially for a Nelson woman whose house was destroyed by arson 10 months ago.
‘‘I miss my old house, but I feel great coming home today,’’ Kay Guyton-Miller said.
Relief, excitement, gratitude and a renewed sense of how to help the homeless were among the feelings experienced by the Nelson community worker, who was preparing on Thursday to spend the first night in her brand new house in Richmond.
Guyton-Miller, her husband and son escaped their former home on Gladstone Rd after fire took hold just after midnight on January 27. The only possessions they salvaged were some photos and a watch. Their pet dog Dre died in the blaze.
A man was charged with arson in the days following the fire and given name suppression by the courts.
Guyton-Miller said paying nearly $500 a week in rent had been a struggle, and she had developed shingles because of the stress. But community help, which got the family through the weeks immediately after the fire, continued to flow in.
‘‘Even today I had a lady ring up, a friend of mine . . . and she goes, ‘Would you like me to come round and make your beds for you? I’ve got a new pair of sheets’.’’
Nelson company Homes By Orange built the new family home on the site of the former one. ‘‘It was an opportunity to help someone who helps others,’’ general manager Jo Neale said. It delivered the house Guyton-Miller wanted, while staying within her budget, with support from local suppliers and contractors.
Guyton-Miller was back at work at charitable trust Angel In My Street four days after the fire, which she said had helped her through the ordeal.
The experience had been a humbling one, which she now drew on her when helping homeless people. ‘‘I sort of know what they need now. When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing.’’
She described her new home as ‘‘beautiful’’, adding that she would have to learn how to use a dishwasher.