Homeowner: William F. Buck, Jr.

Age: 65

Council District: 6

House location: Upper Marlboro

About the homeowner: Born and raised in Prince George’s County, Mr. Buck is retired from a career with the US Postal Service. The physical nature of his job impacted his health; he suffered a work related ruptured disc and a broken knee, which has been replaced. Today, he lives with his seventy-two year old sister in the house he has occupied for forty-four years. His sister has an aortic aneurism and diabetes.

Mr. Buck previously his mother who lived for seven and a half years in a coma after falling down the rear steps of the house. Both brother and sister suffered financially during their mother’s long illness and after their necessities and bills, they are left with about $225.00 each month.

Their greatest concern: Mr. Buck’s biggest concern was the repair of his fence and the scraping and repainting of the exterior of his house.

What we found: Exterior paint is definitely needed but other problems exist. Like many of our recipients, the family are hoarders; they may require social work to help overcome the problem. Removing trash will be an issue. The house was once infested with fleas. A detached garage has rotten fascia and has lost it’s gutters. The drain in the downstairs bathroom is clogged with cement. The dining room needs paint and the living room will require a 32’ section of drywall and paint.

House Captain: Walt Poliansky

His Volunteer Experience: Walt Poliansky first became involved with our program when he was a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. That year, he coordinated all the volunteers from Andrews and passed the “test of fire” since we often use military volunteers to fix the most severe houses and houses that were not repaired to the owner’s satisfaction on event day. Since that time, Mr. Poliansky has volunteered consistently in the warehouse, as a house captain, on the Golf Committee and anywhere else he can contribute.

Dangerous steps

A true “Christmas in April” toilet to make event day interesting!