In December, 2008, Ethelrida’s life took a drastic turn after sustaining serious injury following a pedestrian accident at a major Toronto intersection.

After working for years as an internal auditor for a large bank who loved to read and play guitar, Ethelrida’s found her life change drastically in the blink of an eye. After the accident, she required a wheelchair to get around and spent three years focusing on intense physiotherapy to regain her strength and mobility.

Then in 2019, she suffered a terrible fall fracturing her hip and femur, requiring surgery.

While she’s been able to regain much of her independence after the accident and fall, they’ve left a lasting impact on her. “I was never a very domestically inclined person,” says Ethelrida. “I also love to read and write so I have books everywhere.” Between her book collection and health troubles,  Etherlida experienced severe difficulties with cleaning and maintaining the apartment she shares with her son. Now, as a 72-year-old, she found herself needing help. Her apartment was cluttered and she had a bedbug infestation. The managers of her apartment building were pressuring her to declutter so they could address the infestation, and she didn’t know where to turn.

After sharing her predicament with her counsellor, she was given the lifeline she needed. Her counsellor connected her with VHA’s Restored Home: Extreme Cleaning program. VHA’s Restored Home: Extreme Cleaning program helps individuals and families whose physical, mental health or life circumstances have left them at risk of eviction, homelessness or unsafe living conditions by providing compassionate, trauma-informed decluttering, deep cleaning and home organization support. The program also offers follow-up maintenance and connections to community resources to help clients maintain a safe, healthy home and achieve long-term housing stability.

After an initial assessment, one of our Extreme Clean teams arrived to support Ethelrida in her time of need. Renato, Saidur, Wendy, Heather and Beth worked with her to declutter and clean the apartment while showing the respect and compassion she needed during such a stressful time.

“They were incredible,” explained Ethelrida. “They didn’t just move through my home throwing everything out but coached me through it as they went. I’m a passionate reader and have a lot of books in my apartment. They understood my books are important to me and kept this in mind as they cleaned.”

The Extreme Clean team takes a compassionate care approach, engaging with clients throughout the process to ensure a safe, healthy living environment while recognizing each persons’ unique needs and interests. Renato, the team’s Service Supervisor remembers this aspect of Ethelrida’s home very well. “It was full of books!” he exclaimed. “It was apparent that education was a very important value in her life. I hope that her self-exploration will help her better understand the role of clutter in her and her son’s life.”

After four days of extreme cleaning, the team transformed Ethelrida’s apartment back into a living space where extermination efforts could begin to tackle her bedbug infestation. The before and after was almost more than she could put into words. What she could express was her gratitude and how much the team’s efforts meant to her:

“They all worked with loving kindness, heartfelt dedication and all out devotion to helping me in my time of need. Truly, people like you who show they care are very special and rare. My heart will always be grateful. It’s people like you who make this world a better place.”

The support VHA’s Extreme Clean team provides to clients like Ethelrida does more than transform their living space, it has the power to transform their lives. “When people ask me what the team does, I tell them we help people avoid getting evicted from their homes,” says Renato. “Every client that we work with is at real threat of eviction, and our team helps to push that threat off. Homelessness is an urgent problem in this city and our team plays a significant role in preventing our clients from losing safe housing.”

Learn more about our Restored Home: Extreme Cleaning program here.