By Lisa Carolin
An 85-year-old Chelsea woman can now see the leaves changing color and watch the beautiful fall vistas near her home.
That may not sound like anything out of the ordinary, but just getting out of her house used to be nearly impossible for Wiletta Hafner.
The longtime resident of Orchard Street had become a prisoner in her own home due to her physical challenges. But all that changed on Aug. 15 when a five-person crew came to her house and built a ramp.
“Now Wiletta feels really comfortable knowing she can get outdoors if she needs to,” said Sheila Pederson, community services liaison for the United Way of Washtenaw County.
Pederson’s job is to help people with all kinds of issues. When it comes to building ramps, she works with UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles and Marty Mallory of the Ford Motor Company. They recruited the five-man crew made up of UAW members and led by Grass Lake resident Shane Herrell.
“Community service is a big thing with Ford,” said Pederson, who is on a leave of absence from the Ford Motor Company. “The UAW gets ramps built for people, and my job is to visit them in person. I was so excited to go out and meet Wiletta and to take a photo of her on her ramp. She was so happy not to feel trapped.”
Pederson says that watching the senior citizen live independently gives her encouragement for when she’s older.
“You can see the freedom in the faces of the people when they can get out of their homes on their own,” said Pederson.
Great example of humanitarianism by FoMoCo and the UAW! Thank you gentlemen for leading by example.
Thank you for posting this story. All the hard work done by the crew is so rewarding for them also. They have alot of misty eyes when people use their ramp for the first time.
UAW/Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles has a big heart for Community Services.