THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 27, 1994 TAG: 9412270084
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: MARC TIBBS
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
To say that Debbie Webb had a merry Christmas would be a yuletide understatement.
The 33-year-old Norfolk woman, who found herself financially trapped between two government bureaucracies, has been the recipient of an outpouring of holiday cheer.
There was a $500 check from a Norfolk man with the memo: ``Merry Xmas.'' No questions asked.
A mother read Webb's story to her 6-year-old son and his 10-year-old sister. The two children then offered to tap their piggy banks and bestow $100 on Webb's family.
There also have been calls from construction companies willing to help repair Webb's house in Park Place. A house she can't move into because the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority has kept her on hold for two years promising grant money for renovations.
And who says the holiday mood is lost on the federal government?
The Social Security Administration has recanted its threat to cut Webb's 11-year-old, paraplegic daughter Chrystyna from its disability rolls.
``I'm just so blessed,'' said Webb, unable to hold off the beaming smile she seems to be wearing more often these days. ``It's just so nice to know that there are people out there like that.''
Webb contacted the The Virginian-Pilot after she learned that Chrystyna, a cerebral palsy patient, might be losing her disability payments because her mother had become a homeowner.
Chrystyna has been wheelchair-bound and unable to speak or care for herself since she was 7 months old.
Webb bought the $26,000 house (a HUD foreclosure) with the hopes of renovating it and building a ramp for Chrystyna. They now live in a three-bedroom apartment with two other teenage children.
The home isn't fit for occupancy, and because of the NRHA delay - NRHA officials say they've run out of grant money - Webb has had to make mortgage payments on the house as well as pay rent on their apartment.
She works as a medical office assistant for about $16,000 a year.
Housing authority officials haven't contacted Webb since her story was made public last week. But readers who learned of her plight have deluged the newspaper office with a showing of support.
One law office worker offered to sponsor a ``rent party'' to help Webb continue to make her monthly obligations.
``We've got to do something about this,'' the woman said. ``She still has to make both those payments.''
Webb came forward, reluctantly, after she dreamed she had cancer and never was able to move into the house she's worked so hard to hold onto for the past two years.
She mentioned the dream to a co-worker, who then urged her to contact the newspaper.
``I appreciate everything people have done for me,'' Webb said. ``Now, I know there's help out there. You can't stop fighting, and you just can't stop talking to people. You never know who may give you an answer.''
In the coming year, Webb says she will be praying for her daughter's complete healing. But getting a call from the housing authority might take even more of a miracle.
``I'm hoping they'll just give me a straight answer,'' she said. ``If they can't help me, let me know; then I can see where I have to go from there.'' MEMO: Got a comment or a complaint? Call Marc Tibbs' INFOLINE number. Dial
640-5555 (245-5555 from the Peninsula) and enter category 6272 (MARC). by CNB