Willard Swinson, a North Carolina native, Deacon, and Air Force Veteran, is seeking the community’s help after his home was destroyed in 2016 by Hurricane Matthew.
In 2006, Mr.Swinson suffered a serious and life-altering fall which left him a quadriplegic. After years in-and-out of countless rehabilitation hospitals, Willard was able to return to his home. However, returning to his home meant that he would have to make it handicapped accessible being that he was now wheelchair bound.
Willard was able to make his home as safe and accessible as possible and just when everything started to seem okay, his roof began to leak. Due to his circumstances, Willard survives on just veterans’ benefits and social security disability benefits therefore he was unable to pay to have his entire roof repaired and covered a portion of it with a tarp to prevent further leaks.
While he was trying to figure out how he could pay for the roof repairs on his limited income, Mr. Swinson was contacted by the City of Clinton in 2016 and instructed to vacate his home for code violations.
Not knowing he could fight this, he moved out of his own home and moved into the first place he could find – subsidized housing for the elderly which is not handicapped accessible and for which he must pay rent which strained his very limited disability income.
In 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit and left Swinson’s home uninhabitable. Since then, Swinson has done everything in his power to obtain a grant from governmental agencies however has been unsuccessful. Additionally, he has attended all City Council meetings in an attempt to defend his home, but the city has ordered demolition at his expense.
Henson Fuerst learned of Mr. Swinson’s dilemma and wanted to help him save his home. The firm has reached out to multiple organizations trying to find a way to get Willard back into his home. We need the community to stand up and help.
Anyone who knows Willard knows he has a heart of gold. Even though this life has had excessive trials and tribulation, he still pours out generosity to anyone he meets. It is important for the community to come together and give back to a man who has protected our country and continues to make a positive impact on our community despite the circumstances he faces.
A GoFundMe page and a special trust have been set up to raise $200,000 for Mr. Swinson. This will assist in paying for the demolition of the existing home and building a small handicapped accessible home on land he owns. The goal is to raise funds to build Willard Swinson an ADA compliant home built on the footprint of his old house where he can live in a safe, handicapped accessible home once again.
All payments can be made to the trust through a GoFundMe page or can be mailed directly by check or money order made payable to “The National Community Trust FBO Willard Swinson.”
Direct donations to should be mailed to the Trust at:
The Center for Special Needs Trust Administration Regarding Willard Swinson
4912 Creekside Drive
Clearwater, FL 33760
GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/Rebuild-Disabled-Veteran-s-Home
For more information and to schedule an interview with Willard Swinson and attorney Anne Fisher, please contact:
Anne Duvoisin, Attorney
Email: aduvoisin@nclandlawyer.com
Boone Office: 828.295.7469
Raleigh Office: 919-781-1107
3110 Edwards Mill Road, Suite 210
Raleigh, NC 27612
