Kiwanis of Little Havana help out NMB man

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- A house transformed from nearly falling apart to the start of something new.

Volunteers from the Kiwanis of Little Havana spent their Saturday helping save Raul Crowley's home.

"His roof has deteriorated," said Tony Lorenzo. "It's to the point where it's going to be condemned. He sent us a letter, we came out here and interviewed him, and we felt that this guy was in dire need of some help, so the club decided to come out and give him a brand new roof."

The 76-year-old North Miami Beach man is blind and lives off help from the government. The roof over his home had been leaking for three years.

Because of that, Crowley had been confined to just a couple of rooms in the home.

So the Kiwanis, with help form Home Depot and Novo roofing, began to change that. Installing phase one, replacing the rotten wood and putting on new roof paper. "I suffer from glaucoma," said Crowley, speaking through a translator. "I can't see what they're doing, but I can only imagine it is amazing work, and I am very grateful."

"The roof was in very, very bad shape," said Lorenzo. "There was a lot of rotten wood with water seeping in to the living room. We had to completely build a brand new roof."

The volunteers said it was just as rewarding for them. "It's fulfilling," said Adrian Morales. "We have the time to do it, so we just do whatever to help make that guy's life a lot easier."

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