WREG.com

Senior Citizens Receive Blight Clean-Up Help

(Memphis) Seventy year-old Ora Burkin told us her lawn was so overgrown, she couldn’t access her back yard.

“Because it was wiggly stuff in my, I could see it in the fence moving. I didn’t want to come in contact with a snake,” said Burkin.

She and her neighbor are both disabled senior citizens and said they’ve called about getting help for their yards, but had no success.

“The people that do the yard work are expecting to be paid $30 and $40 . We are on fixed incomes and we do not have money to pay,” said Burkin.

Burkin saw the group Lifeline to Success on TV last week and gave them a call.

Lifeline to Success,a program that provides jobs for felons, came out and cleaned the yards for free.

Lifeline to Success has a contract to clean up blight with the city but on Friday mornings, they donate their time.

“Our men and women have taken from society so we want to give back as much as we can,” said Director of Lifeline to Success DeAndre Brown.

Burkin and her neighbor said the clean yard is nice but this also provides safety.

“It means we can come outside sit on our porch feel safe and nobody hiding behind bushes or whatever the case may be,” said Burkin.