Local church helps ready family’s residence for sale
by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
It was without a doubt one of the best homecomings David Berner and his children have ever had.
The Dayton single-dad and his sons, Josh, 14, and Zach, 11, stepped into their Lincoln Lane townhouse Monday to find it completely renovated and redecorated, thanks to Journey2L2, a local church that meets at South Brunswick High School and emphasizes community service.
The dwelling was refurbished so that it could be sold, relieving the man of his mortgage payment and allowing him to take his family into more affordable housing.
Mr. Berner, an apartment maintenance worker, has been struggling to make ends meet for his family for years. The former owner and operator of Mr. Pizza restaurant in East Brunswick, he was forced to close the business started by his father due to financial difficulties.
A divorce left him a single-dad, with his youngest being a special needs child. Zach attends the Rugby School in Wall Township, a private school for learning disabled and behaviorally challenged students.
Mr. Berner says that the strain of trying to take care of his family has contributed to heart-related health issues, for which he has been hospitalized.
”I don’t make a lot of money. I’m trying to do the best for my family that I can, but it is very hard,” Mr. Berner said. “I just paid the mortgage on this place, and now there is no money for food. The state wouldn’t help me, but the church has really stepped in.”
Mr. Berner embraced the volunteers as he walked in the front door to see the transformation Journy2L2 had made to his home. He and his two sons had been staying in a hotel for the previous five days while the church members did their work. The man and his family barely recognized their place.
”It is unbelievable, I am about to cry,” Mr. Berner said. “I really feel like I am in the wrong place. This doesn’t look like my house.”
The volunteers ripped out all of the carpets in the house except for two rooms, and laid down new flooring. All the walls were painted, and new counter tops were placed in the kitchen, and bathrooms, and cabinets refinished. Donated furniture was added, as well as light fixtures, and an island in the kitchen was installed.
All of this was done with a budget of $3,000.
”Most of these days we worked from 8 a.m. to midnight. We had about 50 volunteers all told though, usually about 15 people working at a time,” Journy2L2 Community Outreach Director Denise Gutierrez said. “We worked right up until the end. When you see those shows on television where the people are all scrambling to put things away at the end, that’s what it is really like.”
Ms. Gutierrez says the organization received donations and discounts from Home Depot and Loews hardware stores on materials, and a $2,500 donation from Princeton Alliance Church in Plainsboro. The volunteers also received meals from Theo’s Restaurant, Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway Restaurant in South Brunswick, along with individual donations of materials and furniture.
According to Ms. Gutierrez, projects like this are what defines Journey2L2, which started in February.
”This is the main focus of our church, doing projects in the community,” she said. “Since we launched earlier this year, we have already recorded over 1,000 hours of community service.”
The next step for the family will be to sell the home and move into more affordable housing. The townhouse is currently on the market.
”I worry about what we are going to do next, where we will go from here,” Mr. Berner said. “I told the kids though, we are going to church from now on.”
More information on Journey2L2, including future projects and volunteering, can be found at www.Journey2L2.org. The congregation also meets every Sunday at 10 a.m. at South Brunswick High School.