Ernie Berry

"This house was one of the worst properties in the east side of Toledo and I'm going to take it to the best property," Ernie Berry said.

Berry talks about the house he purchased last June as he stumbles around boards and scraps.He uses a cane because he doesn't want his guide dog, Calypso, to step on a nail or a sharp piece of wood.

"When I'm by myself, I don't mind if I fall down," Berry said after catching his footing.

Berry, who was born blind, is fixing up the 5,000-square-foot pale yellow house on Oswald Street, which was built in 1896.
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Berry has never let his blindness deter him from hard work.He has two degrees from UT, is working toward a master's degree, was an intern in Washington, D.C., and has twice ran for political office.
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"I wasn't afraid of things falling on me because I couldn't have seen them anyway," Berry said."If they hit me, they hit me."

The house was in horrible shape when he bought it, he said.

"It was foul-smelling and there were condoms and crack paraphernalia everywhere," he said.

Now, the house is gutted and the only things in it are spider webs draped around wooden beams and some scraps on the floor.It is dark and drafty, because the heat has not been installed yet.

Berry laughed as he recalled knocking down walls and clearing out the house, working well after the sun went down when the property would be dark inside.He remembers passing neighbors saying, "Hey Ernie, don't you want a light on in there?"or, "It's pretty dark in there."

"What do I need a light for?"Berry said.

The house will be a twin-plex that will emulate an Old West End style home, Berry said.

"We're not stopping just because of the weather," Berry said."We're a month ahead of schedule, but no corners will be cut.It's going to be a new home in an old building."Not busy enough

Berry said he bought the house because he "needed something else" to work on and he wasn't busy enough.

The project, to which he estimates he has devoted at least 1,500 hours of labor since June, is a hobby, he said, and it won't cut into the time he spends with other commitments during the week.

One of those commitments is chess.Berry began playing chess at age 5 and won the Northwest Ohio Regional Chess Championship in 1998.

"Everything in life, no matter what it is, is a chess game.You have to think ahead," he said while relating his metaphor to the house.
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Berry also mentors neighborhood children, ages kindergarten through high school, teaching them to play chess and training them in weight lifting.

"I don't want to sacrifice the time I spend with mentoring these kids every week," Berry said."I think one of the most important things is to be a role model to someone who looks up to you."

Along with these hobbies, Berry works full time as the ADA coordinator for the City of Toledo, and is attending UT for his master's degree in public administration.

"I love Toledo," Berry said."Toledo is my home.People haven't said they'd entrust me with making governmental decision yet, but that doesn't stop me from fixing up Toledo one house at a time."

Berry credits his parents, Pete and Becky, for his perseverance in his life and his love for his hometown.

Ernie Berry

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At age 23, Ernie Berry already is very accomplished. He is the American Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator for the City of Toledo and also is working toward his master,s degree in public administration at The University of Toledo.

Ernie,s sight is impaired by a congenital condition called optic atrophy, making many of his daily tasks difficult and time consuming. Ernie came to Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio to receive help addressing the many challenges brought about by his limited vision. He consulted with Goodwill,s rehabilitation technologist, Larry Cain, who installed adaptive software and equipment at Ernie,s workplace. Goodwill also got Ernie a laptop computer so he can be completely mobile in his work.

Ernie is a great example of someone who takes what abilities they have, hones them and thinks outside-of-the-box to become independent. In his spare time Ernie is completely restoring a 5,000 square foot home built in 1896. He also is an avid chess player.