Our great friend Phil Fraboni....We call him Camera man Phil. (Cuz...he 's a cameraman for CHCH 11... He's the one gave us a tour of CHCH and let us take photo's with the helmets behind the scenes.... Really, he's just coolest, sweetest man ever.) Well... Great news for Phil and his family... They've just completed their house from Habitat for Humanity!!! Is that awesome or what? We can't think anyone more desearving than such a wonderful gift.
http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/555591
Christmas comes early for Hamilton family
Widower and three teens, one in wheelchair, get their wish for fully accessible home
TORONTO STAR
The gift Phil Fraboni and his kids are receiving this holiday season comes wrapped in Typar House- Wrap.
The Frabonis' present is a new, fully accessible 1,520-square-foot bungalow at the corner of Dunsmure St. and Tolton Rd. provided through Habitat for Humanity Hamilton.
Fraboni, 37, a CHCH TV cameraman, is a widowed dad with three teens. Son Thomas, 17, is dependent on a wheelchair to get around. When the Frabonis applied to Habitat in 2002, mom Renee was also confined to a wheelchair, but sadly, she passed away in late 2007.
The Frabonis moved to Hamilton in 2001; prior to that, they'd been living in Ottawa in a rented semi-detached house with a ramp. Then, Renee was still ambulatory. She suffered for 16 years with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), a neurological disorder characterized by progressive weakness and impaired sensory function in the legs and arms. The disorder is caused by damage to the myelin sheath, the fatty covering that protects nerve fibres. As her condition worsened, Renee developed diabetes and thyroid cancer. Eventually, her body was unable to fight off infection.
Thomas, born 10 weeks premature, suffered a brain injury during birth. His lungs were not fully developed and he developed cerebral palsy and suffers from hydrocephalus, which causes excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain.
"He has mild to moderate cerebral palsy, fairly good use of his limbs and hands," says his dad of Thomas, who attends Hill Park Secondary School. "He is a clever, smart kid, but (due to his disability) academically around Grade 4 or 5."
Jacob, 16, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but is flourishing at Crestwood Secondary School, where his teachers praise his leadership skills. Cassandra, 14, "a regular kid" is in Grade 9 at Saltfleet Secondary School and her horticultural class has been involved in creating a landscaping plan for the Frabonis' new house. She will likely change schools after the move.
"When we moved to Hamilton, the city list for accessible housing was for a maximum three-bedroom house," says Fraboni.
"We live in a three-bedroom townhouse which is like a ground-floor apartment. The boys have to share one small bedroom, which is difficult, as Thomas's wheelchair has to fit in there and it was difficult for him and my wife to be in the kitchen at the same time, with their chairs. My wife and I decided to approach Habitat to see if they would build an accessible house."
The family could not afford a house to suit their needs – "the housing market was so ridiculously overpriced and to find the money to modify a house after we bought it was almost an impossibility," says Fraboni.
Renee passed away before they learned the build was proceeding. Fraboni says the support of family and friends helped him and the kids cope with her death and the subsequent grief.
Originally, a tiny wartime house sat on the corner lot facing on Dunsmure St.; it was dismantled to make way for construction of the new home, which faces Tolton Rd. A carport at the rear will allow Phil to get Thomas in and out without having to cope with rain and snow.
Bob McConkey, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Hamilton, says because of the accessibility issue, the home had to be a bungalow. He says accessible homes are a rarity among Habitat builds.
"They're getting a pretty good-sized house and the kitchen/dining room and living room are open concept, forming a 40- by 38-foot great room," says McConkey. "We don't normally finish basements, but because each person in the family needed his or her own bedroom, we did finish one in the basement."
A few extra roof trusses were ordered when the house was being built, and for just a few hundred dollars extra, the Habitat crew was able to create a six-foot deck the full width of the front of the house.
The house has universal design so all members of the family can live there comfortably. Accessibility features include wider doorways and hallways and a kitchen with varied counter heights to accommodate Thomas and the rest of the family, cooktop with knobs at the front (so Thomas doesn't burn himself leaning over it), a wall oven with door that opens sideways, as well as plugs at a convenient wheelchair height. Thomas will also be able to use the main floor laundry room. His bathroom has a wheel-in shower and the house is equipped with a sprinkler system and a rough-in for a future elevator.
Though the dedication ceremony was originally set for Tuesday, due to sewer and water hookup issues, it has been delayed until early January, when the family will move in.
Habitat rules dictate that household income must be $37,791 or less for a family of four (or $43,862 for a family of five) and the family must have the ability to make mortgage payments. In keeping with Habitat's "a hand up, not a handout" philosophy, the family has to contribute 500 hours in "sweat equity" either through labour on their own, or other Habitat homes or through volunteering at fundraising events or at the Habitat ReStore.
The whole Fraboni family has participated in walkathons and the kids have been on site helping out, including Thomas, who handed out clipboards with paperwork for volunteers to fill out.
Volunteers have included the crew of the HMCS Charlottetown, who came ashore when the ship docked at Hamilton Harbour, local high school students and Fraboni's family and friends.
"Apart from hanging pictures, the last time I swung a hammer was in high school," says Fraboni. "But I worked very well under the supervisor's instruction."
He is proud of the fact he helped build a home for his children.
"It's a great neighbourhood, and it will be nice to have a place of our own to call home and to put down roots."
He plans to put his reawakened handyman skills to good use.
"No way is 500 hours enough to repay Habitat," he says. "I'm going to continue to volunteer, either as a board member or now that I have experience swinging a hammer again, I'll do whatever's needed."
"Phil has been through a lot and we have all been touched by his love and dedication of his family and the courage and class he demonstrates every day," says McConkey.
"It is inspiring to see families like Phil's moving forward and finding joy and happiness where so many would simply see despair."
http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/555591
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