HYANNIS — For years, trees and shrubs were so overgrown that the small house at 124 Beth Lane was not even visible from the street.

The back deck was rotting from the inside out, and windows needed to be replaced.

The owner of the home, 67-year-old William Arral, who served in the Army in Vietnam, is a widower who lives alone and gets by on the disability payments he receives for his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

For the past week, however, members of the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office and inmates from the Barnstable County Correctional Facility have been working tirelessly on Beth Lane, pulling weeds, building stairs and filling trash bins in an effort to restore the property of a veteran at risk of becoming homeless.

In September, Arral's home insurance company threatened to cancel his policy unless he cleaned up the yard and made renovations to the aging structure. It was something he could not physically or financially accomplish on his own.

After being denied a home loan, Arral felt that he was running out of options. Then the Hyannis Vet Center put him in touch with Richard Riehle of Cape Cod Veterans Inc. and things finally started to look up.

After getting an extension from the insurance company, Riehle, president of the nonprofit organization that is dedicated to supporting members of the military, veterans and their families, reached out to the community for help with the $20,000 project.

Inmates provided the labor, Nauset Disposal lent several 30-yard trash containers, and Home Depot donated some of the materials. The rest of the project was financed by the nonprofit group itself.

Barnstable County Sheriff's Lt. Joe Brait was on site assisting inmates with carpentry work on the house.

In four days, workers cleared out the entire front yard, demolished the deck and built a new staircase to the back door.

In a few weeks, they will return to replace a few windows with broken seals.

"Compared to some other projects, this one was very small, but very much in need," Brait said. "(Arral) could not do this kind of work alone."

Arral said the outpouring of support from the community and Riehl's dedication were overwhelming.

"Richie really has a way of bringing things together and getting things done," Arral said. "Now the neighborhood can be proud of the whole street."

Arral's neighbor Francisco Farias agreed. On Wednesday afternoon, when the crew was packing up and getting ready to head out for the day, Farias walked over to the property and looked at the house in disbelief.

"It's really a great job," he said. "Before, we didn't even know that a house was there."

View story & photos of work on our Photo Gallery under 2014 Veterans House