Stories of Impact: Ernest Minder

Ernest Minder, District Resident

Ernest Minder has lived in DC since 1963. Originally from the Shaw neighborhood, Ernest moved to his current home located in Southeast in 2012 to care for his sister. At 61 years old, Ernest works at the Rockville Men’s homeless shelter.

Unfortunately, in 2016, Ernest’s sister passed, and he ended up purchasing their home in 2018.

Ernest’s home had leakage from the main roof that extended into several rooms in his home including the kitchen and patio area. Though his insurance did offer to cover part of the repairs, the remaining cost still exceeded what Ernest could afford.

Ernest reached out to Lydia’s House, a local nonprofit providing social services, emotional support and educational resources to low-income and at-risk families, to see if they could help with the repairs. It was then that Lydia’s House introduced Ernest to The Coalition, and he learned about the Senior Homeowner Stabilization Program.

The Coalition was able to repair Ernest’s ceilings, roof, and conduct mold remediation for all the affected areas at absolutely no cost to him.  Now, Ernest says he can focus on paying for his mortgage, insurance, and car note and start saving for a rainy day.

Ernest plans on staying in the house as long as he can. He hopes to fix up the space more so his grandchildren can come stay with him and attend the school nearby so they can get a better education.

“I hope someone can see this and, you know, and get some help like I did. I mean, I really needed it. You never have enough sometimes, but you can get enough help. With the help that I received, I would like to share by my knowledge. I want to share it with other people.”