Community working to get beloved officer help for his home after medical catastrophe

Community working to get beloved “Officer Robo” help for his home after medical catastrophe

OPELIKA, Ala. — In a developing story, members of the law enforcement, business, and faith communities are rallying to raise money for a beloved Auburn Police Department officer additions to his home to accommodate his needs after he suffered a series of strokes.

Retired Officer Mike “Robo” Roberson served the local community for 28 years before the strokes took away his voice and much of his movement. He now sleeps in his wheelchair in the downstairs of his home instead of the bedroom he has long shared with his wife, Jacqueline, a long-time caregiver for others in the Macon County School System. For now, Jacqueline sleeps beside him in a recliner and often gives voice to the words the man lovingly known as Robo scribbles onto a dry-erase board.

Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project Executive Director Kim Roberts learned of the situation and went to the Robersons’ home to see how she could help. Though the Robersons’ home is in Lee County, an area a bit out of the Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project’s normal service area, Roberts took up the challenge of helping the family and is drumming up support to make the improvements happen.

Of course, it’s hardly the first time that the Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project has stretched its range to help families in Lee County. They first worked there after the 2019 tornado, building 20 homes as part of recovery efforts.

WRBL-TV’s Elizabeth White was on the scene as community members met with the Robersons and issued a plea for financial support in the reports below. Adding a wheelchair-accessible bedroom and bathroom to the home is expected to cost about $40,000, work that is expected to be completed before summer ends.

Thank you to everyone who has donated for this project! We have reached our goal and are set to begin work for the Roberson family!

UPDATE FROM JUNE 21, 2021: We’ve raised $37,000 of the $40,000 needed. Thank you!

REPORTS FROM WRBL’S ELIZABETH WHITE: