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Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Charles and Lolita have lived in their home for 25 years, but were almost forced to leave because of the condition of their roof.
“Water was leaking all over the house, the porch, the back porch, the front porch, and the awnings,” Charles said. “It was coming through the front door, the bathroom, and the kitchen.”
They had been working on saving money to repair the roof and all the other damage that had occurred, but then Charles and Lolita got sick.
“Doctor said Charles can't work anymore, so he’s not getting four paychecks a month. You get one check during retirement and that's it. Now, I have breast cancer. We were just praying,” Lolita said.
They knew about the City of Youngstown’s roof replacement program a couple of years ago, but back then, they weren’t eligible. With both of them unable to work and the roof getting worse, Charles put in an application for a roof replacement with YNDC.
“It was leaking in my bedroom in the back and his bedroom upstairs. We had a bucket in every room. So, Charles decided to fill out the application again. We got approved and it was such a blessing. I cried. I'm so grateful to YNDC,” Lolita said.
Beyond the repairs, Charles and Lolita said YNDC made everything easy to understand. “The lady who called us in, she was very knowledgeable. She was very thorough. I like how YNDC does it,” Lolita said. “So when a person gets into this, they understand what the program is and how it works.”
Lolita said, before they were approved, they didn’t want to leave but they were running out of options. “If we hadn’t been approved for the roof and furnace, we were going to have to move. The roof was falling. We haven't had heat for 2 years,” Lolita said. “We didn’t want to leave. We called this our home for 25 years and we like this neighborhood.”
Now that the roof has been replaced, Charles said he’s got to repair holes and water damage but he’s thankful he can retire the buckets. “I'm gonna clean all that up, but the major work is done. They did an excellent job on the roof and the gutters and the heat will be a welcome relief,” Charles said.