DETROIT (WXYZ) – A new home and a job – this is a follow-up action for you!
This summer I introduced you to a Detroit man trapped in an apartment on the second floor. After becoming paralyzed, he not only lost his dream of becoming a police officer, but he lost his ability to do many things that most of us consider self-evident because he did not live in a wheelchair accessible house and could not afford to move. .
When her story aired on 7 Action News, a job recruiter saw her and triggered a life-changing domino effect in just six months!
“Not often do people or applicants receive a phone call from a recruiter saying, ‘I saw your story on the news, do you want a job?’ “I know so! I’ve been looking for a job for a long time, “says Charles Blackwell with a wide smile.
When I first met Blackwell in June, he lived in his childhood home in Detroit. I showed you the long staircase that stood between him and his future.
Shortly after high school, Blackwell joined the Army National Guard with plans to become a police officer in Detroit.
But before the camp training began, a tragedy occurred. He was shot in the spine in a blow that paralyzed him from the waist down. After many terrifying months in the hospital, his mother brought him home to the duplex on the second floor, at the top of that long staircase. She was then killed by a hit and run driver.
Blackwell was blocked on the second floor. He could only go to critical care appointments and had to pay the EMTs to transport him every time. It cost him thousands of dollars just to go see a doctor.
While trapped on the second floor, Blackwell earned several degrees online and applied for countless jobs, but no one would hire him remotely.
After my story aired in June, the phone rang, with a remote job opportunity, he said.
“It blew my mind because I feel that the position at Rocket Mortage is the perfect position! And the position we’ve been looking for for the last seven years, “said Blackwell.
After a month-long interview process, he began working at Rocket Mortage in August. He has already gained company recognition for his work, earning what they call “Cav’s Coin.”
With a regular salary and a growing GoFundMe account, Charles managed to take another important step.
On Thursday, he moved into a new house, one without stairs.
“It’s accessible to all wheelchairs,” he said.
He says he is grateful to all those who shared their story, who donated, who offered words of encouragement and to the recruiter who had a chance for him.
“Who would have thought in 2020, during a pandemic, that I would bring down the goals we were looking for,” Blackwell said.
Now that he doesn’t have to pay thousands of dollars just to get in and out the front door, he can make plans for the future.
“I would like to take more physical therapy, learn how to drive with manual controls and get a vehicle so that I can drive and go in places,” he says.
Blackwell still has a lot of medical bills that he catches and moves out of his childhood home, which means he starts with an empty list!
If you want to send him a home heating gift, there are a few things he needs – here is his Amazon wish list