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FORT McMURRAY — What began as a plan to make one Fort McMurray woman’s home wheelchair accessible has grown into a community-wide effort involving dozens of local businesses, tradespeople and volunteers.
The project, known as Katie’s Dream Home, is transforming the home of Katie, a Fort McMurray resident who was left with a life-changing disability after she stopped to help a friend whose vehicle was stuck in a ditch near Anzac earlier this year. While assisting, she was pinned when another vehicle backed into her, according to project organizer Mohamed Tarrabin.
Tarrabin said he became involved after Katie’s sister, Chelsea, posted a public appeal for help making the home accessible.
The initial plan was to widen doorways and build an accessible bathroom, but the response from the community quickly changed the scope of the project.
“Within 12 hours I had over 40 local companies offering their help and support,” Tarrabin said.
Rather than accepting cash donations, organizers asked businesses to contribute labour, materials and equipment. Tarrabin said companies stepped forward offering everything from flooring and paint to shingles and other building supplies.
The project has since expanded into a full renovation.
“We are actually remodelling her whole house at the moment,” Tarrabin said. “We took the roofing down. We took the shingles down. We took the siding down. We took every wall in the house, every floor piece, and we’re remodelling it all for her.”
In addition to making the home fully accessible, volunteers are constructing a new accessible shed and rebuilding much of the property’s exterior.
According to organizers, Tarrabin and Prestige Jewellers covered the initial construction costs, while Fort McMurray Mayor Sandy Bowman personally paid municipal permit and landfill fees. Local retailers, including Canadian Tire and RONA, also opened their inventories to help supply materials.
Volunteer crews have already demolished an aging shed, stripped the home’s exterior and prepared the site for reconstruction.
Tarrabin said the project no longer belongs to any one individual.
“It’s not one person project anymore. It’s the whole community project now,” he said.
He said he has also made a point of publicly recognizing every business and volunteer involved, regardless of the size of their contribution.
“It doesn’t matter how small or big it is. Everybody deserves to be recognized,” Tarrabin said.
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