Baltimore woman still lives in home Jimmy Carter helped build in 1992, says he changed her life
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore resident Sonia Street remembers when former President Jimmy Carter showed up 30 years ago to the property that would become her longtime home. She said that day changed her life forever.
Mr. Carter, who was invested in Habitat for Humanity for decades, died on Sunday at the age of 100, the Carter Center said.
"June 15th, 1992 at 8 o'clock in the morning, I'll never forget it," Street told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. "That's Jimmy Carter. He's coming to you. I said I really like this man."
Street still lives in the home on Gilmor Street in West Baltimore's Sandtown neighborhood. She told WJZ she adores the 39th U.S. president who helped her build the home.
"I can't leave him alone. He's in my heart. He's in this house. This is the seed that he left me. If he didn't leave me anything else, he left me a seed in Sandtown, and I'm very, very grateful for it," Street said.
In her dining room, she placed a picture of Carter working inside her bedroom window.
Filled with memories
Street's home is filled with memories of the visit, and her heart is filled with love for the 39th president.
"When we were standing right outside, I said, 'Thank you for this home, you and Mrs. Carter, I never will forget this. I want to be able to travel the world with you. You made me want to help other people,'" she recalls telling the Carters.
Multiple visits To Baltimore
President Carter helped build many homes in East and West Baltimore with Habitat for Humanity and visited Baltimore again in 2010.
Street was so inspired she traveled the world — building homes for the organization from Georgia and Mississippi to South Korea and Thailand — paying it forward.
"It made me feel good. That's the love that he poured into me so I'm pouring it out into my world," she said.
Street told Hellgren she plans to travel to Washington, D.C. to pay her final respects to Carter.
Lessons learned
Street still remembers how Mr. Carter taught her how to hold a hammer.
"He smacked my hand and said, 'No, Sonia, you hold the hammer from the handle and not from the top!'" Street said. "He told me, 'No! Take the hammer and sling it!'"
While Street has sadness at the president's death, she remembers what he left behind with a smile.
"He was a man of peace and love and faith," she said. "Any time I talk about him, I'm going to tear up because he opened my eyes further than I thought I could see."