On a cold day last February, 89-year-old Thomas Pressley walked into the 3rd District police station to report that someone had scammed him out of his money. He was fortunate to be speaking with Sgt. Juanita Eccles, a 31-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Eccles shepherded an investigation that documented elder abuse of Pressley, finding that his caregivers had drained his bank account and failed to make deposits. She also learned that the city had condemned Pressley’s home at 1309 Wallach Place NW for being inhabitable.
But on Monday morning, that home was a place of celebration. In honor of Veterans Day, city officials and other local civic and business leaders joined to welcome Pressley — a Korean War veteran — back into his newly refurbished row house.
The monthlong effort to provide Pressley with safe and comfortable living conditions was a coordinated act of volunteerism, involving DC government agencies, local nonprofits and corporations including Comcast and Home Depot.
“It takes a village,” Ward 1 DC Councill member Brianne Nadeau told the crowd of about 60 who gathered Monday for Pressley’s “Welcome Back Home” celebration.
It all started with Eccles, who “went above and beyond the call of duty,” Nadeau said. The police sergeant worked tirelessly to organize the rehabilitation of Pressley’s condemned home in Shaw while he resided in temporary accommodations. The Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs also worked with Nadeau’s staff to line up a team of volunteers and local organizations to assist with renovations and furnishings.
“You can’t buy love,” Pressley said Monday, surrounded by the project’s organizers. His message to the crowd was: “Love your neighbor like you love yourself.”
Thanking Pressley for his years of military service, DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton described the renovation as an attempt to “honor a veteran whose debt we had not fully paid.” She noted that Pressley served at a time when his country did not afford him equal rights.
A South Carolina native, Pressley was drafted to the U.S. Army in 1951 during the Korean War, according to a biography by Purple Heart Homes, one group involved with the renovation. He earned the Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Stars and the rank of private first class before his honorable discharge in 1953. Afterward, he made his home in DC and worked in janitorial positions at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.
In recent years, Pressley’s row house on Wallach Place, which he shares with his nephew, had suffered from deterioration and extensive termite damage. Purple Heart Homes — launched in 2008 by Iraq War veterans John Gallina and Dale Beatty — took a lead role in restoring the house as a safe refuge. One of the goals of the nonprofit, which now has 11 chapters across the country, is to ensure that no veteran is left without a home.
Tim Magnum, the group’s national chapter programs director, said veterans of the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam — sometimes called America’s “forgotten wars” — are themselves often forgotten. The strong connection among veterans of various generations was evident on Monday, with Magnum, Gallina and Beatty saying they were particularly eager to meet Pressley once they discovered that all four of them served in artillery units.
Another group that pitched in to the renovation was The Home Depot Foundation, which works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans. Two local nonprofits, A Wider Circle and LightHouse DC, helped supply furnishings, and Comcast is providing Pressley with free internet and cable.
Judith Collister, an elder-abuse specialist in the Office of the DC Attorney General, served as an advocate for Pressley throughout the process. On Monday, she called on attendees to reach out to their own neighbors and look out for signs of elder abuse. This abuse, she said, is not necessarily physical — it can be financial, as in Pressley’s case, or emotional, verbal or psychological. The abusers are typically people who are close to the victim, including caregivers and family members, Collister said.
The Veterans Day ceremony featured local singer Lauren Cartwright’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and a ribbon-cutting by Pressley to symbolically mark the opening of his new home. Afterward, he invited everyone inside for food and treats.
“It’s great to see community come together,” said Vicki Thomas, director of special projects at Purple Heart Homes. “This is what America is about.”
Although Pressley’s house is now completely furnished, the public is invited to donate household items such as pots and pans via the Purple Heart Homes donations webpage. A Wider Circle also welcomes donations to support its work furnishing homes for veterans throughout the region.
City officials also highlighted the availability of a 24-hour Adult Protective Services Hotline at 202-541-3950 for reports of elder abuse. Residents can also seek assistance at the agency’s office at 64 New York Ave. NE, with no appointment necessary.
Just as a followup, Mr. Pressley has been displaced todate. He is currently living in Baltimore with relatives. He never went back into his house. He wants to return.