Community rallies around WWII vet facing eviction

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - 96-year-old World War II veteran Chet Lebrun had just a week to move out of this Winter Haven mobile home after the Cypress Shores community, where he lives, sent him a notice last week -- make the required repairs to his home or be evicted.

“When they sent me that notice, you got seven days to fix it, imagine fixing all that, seven days, I couldn't even stand up,” Lebrun said.

He got the first notice last month. Some of the requested repairs, like the roof, were from Hurricane Irma. Others were unrelated. His family friend and power of attorney, Karen Bingham, said that after getting denied by FEMA, he’s still going through the appeals process.

“It scared me for him so I needed to jump into action pretty quickly and try to get some help,” Bingham said.

Outraged at the situation, she took to social media, posting about the predicament, but she never imagined the response she would get.

“It has been an overwhelming response, I couldn’t believe it almost immediately, I had people coming and saying I'll come and I'l fix it free of charge,” Bingham said.

But the community took it even further, offering to purchase a brand new mobile home for the army vet.

“They contacted me this morning and said that the two of them would like to purchase him a new mobile home in the Hamptons here in Auburndale,” Bingham said. 

Chet says he can’t believe the gratitude from the community in such a short period of time.

“I’m telling you, it amazes me really,” Bingham said.

FOX 35 tried reaching out to Cypress Shores management, but we did not hear back.