Barbara Wise, adult protective services specialist II and six-year OKDHS employee, listens as 84-year-old Earl J. Woods describes the flowers his mother planted around his Miami, Okla., home. With compassion, dedication and commitment, Wise helped Woods find safey and security in a rebuilt home.
The day Barbara Wise told 84-year-old Earl Woods that he could no longer live in his life-long Miami, Okla., home, they both stood in the house’s doorway, between its broken down porch and ceiling-less living room, and cried.
The city condemned the only home Woods had ever lived in and the home where he had lovingly nursed his ailing mother.
“The home did not have more than 10 feet of livable floor space,” said Wise, adult protective services specialist and six-year OKDHS employee. “We had to walk on the floor joists because there were so many holes in the floor. Mr. Woods slept on a pallet on the floor, and the ceiling where he slept was open to the sky.”
The city inspector, a friend of Wise, condemned the home, but not before he and Wise held many conversations and brainstorming sessions.
“We just didn’t know what to do,” said Wise. “My mind just kept going back to he had no choice. I was even kind of angry. We just had to do something, but we needed a miracle.”
Within days, Wise received a message on her personal cell phone – a number she only gives out to family and friends. The caller, the pastor at a local church, said they didn’t know each other, but he understood she had a project for him.
Wise returned the call, met with J.L. Jones, showed him photos and explained the situation.
“He said, ‘Yep, this is exactly what we’re looking for. We’ll get the people together at the church tonight’,” said Wise.
Just before the Thanksgiving 2005 holiday, the church membership enthusiastically agreed to rebuild the Wise home. Satisfied, Jones took to the road the long holiday weekend. He and his two children were killed in an automobile accident. Lora Jones, the only survivor of the accident, took up where her husband left off.
Six months later, in the spring 2006, Woods moved into his fully furnished home. His siblings, who live across the country, sang songs their mother had sung on the front porch. The home, equipped with a microwave, a window air-conditioner unit and extra-wide doors for accessibility, was designed so that Woods can remain in his home the rest of his life.
“That was a promise I made to him that day standing in the doorway,” said Wise. “If it was in my power, he’d never have to leave his home again.”
Woods said he’s still getting used to his surroundings. “Never having running water, heating and cooling or a microwave, I’m still trying to figure out what’s good for me and it. I’ve had to learn to use it all.”
“He gave his life to care for his mother,” said Wise. “He’s taken care of everyone around him. When the time came that he was in need, by no choice of his own, he would not have asked anyone to help him. I think that’s the role of Adult Protective Services, to help those that cannot help themselves.”