SLIDELL, La. — A home is a shelter from all sorts of storms.
And one former hairdresser in Slidell has been through her share of them, including the loss of her beloved husband.
What you are about to see is the incredible determination of the human spirit to preserve all the memories they shared under one roof, and the community that's now trying to put a new one over her head.
This is a love story like you've never seen before. It’s about a wife's love for her late husband, so deep, that at 78, she climbs a ladder at all hours, day, and night, in rain, cold or scalding heat, to save the storm-ravaged house they once called home. For years, she’s been gluing Walmart bags and PVC pipes to literally hold it up, until one day, some men, complete strangers, chose to truly love thy neighbor as thyself.
“It's a miracle, and I just thank God. That's the main goal, Miss Darla,” said Norman Chappetta, who works for O’Reilly Auto Parts.
It all started last November. After suffering from five heart attacks, Norman Chappetta's daily route to work in Slidell changed. So, he'd see Darla Haro working on her dilapidated home. He could not let it go on, so left a two-page letter offering his help.
“And it just breaks my heart that she's been living in this since (Hurricane) Katrina. The house leaks, you know. It's just unbelievable what she's been going through,” said Chappetta.
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Thinking it was a scam, Miss Darla ignored the letter for months. Then someone reported the condition of her home to St. Tammany Parish.
“That complaint is what made me have to do something, because they gave me three months to get it together, or else,” said Darla Haro.
With no money to fix it, she called the stranger who left that letter, Norman. That led to veteran, print journalist, Kevin Chiri, owner of The Slidell Independent, doing a story on Miss Darla. Last week, Slidell Councilman Trey Brownfield read Kevin's words. And like Norman, said he could not let this go on either.
“I've been to foreign mission trips across this country, and it completely, it broke my heart that here in our own community, that we have somebody that is in this need,” said Slidell Councilman Trey Brownfield.
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Slidell community helps woman save her home
In less than a week, the GoFundMe account began to grow. Units donated storage, Northshore Ace Hardware donated boxes, Drain Surgeon hooked up the water and C & J Treatment Systems donated the sewer lines. Coastal Environmental Services will haul debris and put in a new temporary trailer home so Miss Darla can live on her property, as her home is torn down and a new one built. Good Sam's Ministry is volunteer-coordinating this project.
Both coming from Chalmette, Miss Darla and Trey have bonded.
“I said we're going to get Miss Darla across the finish line. Whatever it's going to take, whatever resources, we got to pull, we're going to get Miss Darla a suitable home for her to live in,” said Brownfield.
“So, now I have three wonderful men in my life, and Art understands why. Huh Arty,” Haro laughs.
Darla says Arty was the love of her life. They were together for 15 years. He died from cancer only one month after their wedding. So, she gets none of his Social Security. But the land is scared ground to her. It’s the home he gave her. The thought of selling the property and moving to a smaller, more manageable place, is unthinkable.
“That's how much I loved Art. I made a little frame when we first moved in here, and I put Artie and Darla's Love Nest. And it was our love nest,” remembers Haro.
That's why she is willing to glue it together, even on the inside. She does this work on the high ceiling, in no air conditioning.
“This is the worst part. Look up there,” said Haro.
But now it's all about to change.
“God sent some angels to help you,” said Brownfield.
“He sure did, and I look up and I say, ‘Arty, you worked something with God. I know you did because Art was a good man. He was a great man,” said Haro.
And with all this love coming her way, she plans to return it.
“Because I have no children,” she explains why she wants to leave the property to a battered women’s program.
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Most people go through life never experiencing the kind of devotion of a spouse that Miss Darla describes. It’s a devotion she's held on to for 33 years after Artie's death. And now an entire community is devoted to picking up where her beloved Artie left off.
Good Sam's Ministries is coordinating this project. If you want to help, here are some links:
To donate funds, CLICK HERE.
To volunteer, CLICK HERE.
St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church
910 Cross Gates Blvd | Slidell, LA 70461
Office: (985) 641-6429