New house a blessing for family

MOUNT PLEASANT -- When Hilda Conyers traded a sofa cushion at a relative's house for a two-bedroom home of her own Wednesday, she saw something she hadn't seen in a while: a smile.

Conyers, 71, and her granddaughters lost their home in a fire about a year ago on Volunteer Lane but moved into a new house Wednesday, thanks to the United Methodist Relief Center and a crew from the First United Methodist Church of the Isle of Palms.

Conyers staggered when she entered the home complete with furnishings, three beds and a bathroom, stocked with shampoo and toothbrushes. Granddaughters Dominique Conyers, 15, and Latisha Singleton, 9, were elated.

"I didn't recognize these girls. They were so happy," Conyers said.

Conyers and her two granddaughters, who lived with her at the time of the fire, lost everything. For the last year, they slept on the couches of relatives. Now they and a third granddaughter, Alana Conyers, 6, will call the new place home.

Mount Pleasant police learned of the family's hardship the morning after the fire.

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Harry Sewell knew his Isle of Palms church intended to build an Elderly Transportable Cottage through the relief center, and Sewell and John Jenkins, the police department's elderly victims' advocate, helped put the family and the United Methodist Relief Center together to provide the family a new home.

"Not only have they built a home, but they've also given the family a nicer place to call home than they had before," Jenkins said.

The church crew, calling themselves the geezer gang, worked on the mobile home for a year, constructing a stick-built home on the recycled frame of a mobile home outside their church.

Pat Neeley and other crew members became a close-knit group through their work, he said. Volunteering gave them a good feeling and more.

"You get to know people and you love them," he said.

Reach Jessica Johnson at 937-5921 or at jjohnson@postandcourier.com.