Meet Joceil Smith - Columbus Cottage #1
She was born in 1918 at the end of World War I. Her father was a minister. Her mother cleaned homes.
Joceil married Thomas when she was a young woman. They worked hard at several jobs. He labored all his life as a Columbus city government worker. She was a custodian for several local schools, the city’s first female cab driver and served as a minister of a small church. They raised three children. They bought a home at 906 27th Street and they made a life together.
After a lifetime of working hard for a living, they retired. Thomas passed away. Joceil was a wife for many years and is still a mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great-great grandmother. One of her remaining children, who is disabled, lovingly serves as her caregiver. This past June, Joceil celebrated her 90th birthday.
Last winter, some folks went to visit Joceil. It was cold outside. It was colder inside – 39 degrees. The wood leaning up against the house covering the rotted siding is a feeble attempt at keeping out the elements. She does not have a ladder – nor the strength – to climb and cover the hole in the attic that kept out the pigeons. The bathtub does not work. She boils water in the kitchen and carries it in buckets to sponge bathe. On her very limited senior income, she simply can’t afford the needed repairs. What little money she has goes for food and medicine. The home she and her husband bought together is falling in around her. Still, Joceil has faith in the Lord. She loves her babies with all her heart and maintains a sparkle for life in her eyes.
The 90-year old Mrs. Smith has never asked for much. She did not ask for help this time. It was her neighbors, a city inspector and a member of the local office of a congressman that asked NeighborWorks® Columbus to help her. When we met her, heard her story and saw how she was living, we knew we had to act.
Joceil Smith isn’t the only hard-working, impoverished elderly citizen of Columbus living in squalor. She was however, the first individual we helped through the Columbus Cottage Program (CCP).
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