HOUSTON – At 61 years old, Molly Downs struggles to walk through what’s left of her storm-damaged, two-bedroom trailer home.
In early April, when a powerful storm blasted the greater Houston area, monster winds and pounding rains slammed into the tiny home that Downs and her disabled husband, Roger, live in.
At times, they thought they would be killed.
“To be honest, we just prayed. There was nothing else that could be done,” Molly said.
A huge tree had come crashing through the roof of their small, metal home.
The tree carved a giant hole right through the metal skin of their home, punching more holes through the wooden support structure and sending insulation flying everywhere.
To make matters worse, both Downs and her husband have severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), both are disabled and Roger Downs is nearly blind and cannot walk more than a few feet at a time. They survive on Social Security disability payments and have no homeowner’s insurance.
That means they have no money to pay for the estimated $16,000 in repairs that need to be made after that tree came crashing down on their home.
Now, the Spencer Solves It team is answering their prayers with help from a company called Houston Metal Roofing Services, out of Crosby.
Now, owner James LeValley and his crew are going to fix every aspect of the Downs' damaged home absolutely free.
“I just think it’s the right thing to do. These are really good people in a really horrible spot. We need to help,” LeValley said.
And Randy Hartley, a member of Bill’s Brigade, a man who has helped us on more than a dozen different projects and donated thousands of dollars, is now donating $2,000 to help pay for materials and labor on this job.
“We can’t let this go unanswered. We cannot let these people live with a giant hole running along the length of their roof. It’s not going to happen,” Hartley said.
Within 48 hours of the storm, Spencer and LeValley, owner of Houston Metal Roofing Services, were at the home to fix the problems.
Thanks to a generous donation of 24-gauge steel from Quality Metals of Houston, LeValley and his crew begin several days of backbreaking work, rebuilding the Downs' roofing system.
LeValley and a co-worker hauled hundreds of pounds of high-grade steel, nuts, bolts, drills and saws up to the damaged roof and began repairing it.
They not only rebuilt the metal roof above, they reconstructed the wooden substructure below it and rebuilt the interior ceiling of the home.
Upon completion of the work, Roger Downs looked at his freshly repaired home and marveled at the generosity he has received.
“Oh, my God, I just can’t believe this,” he said.
“I’m so happy, I could cry,” Molly said, wiping away tears.
“Thank you, Bill, and all the folks who helped you pull off these incredible acts of kindness,” Roger said.
“May God bless you and continue to guide you to help all the other people out there who need your help so desperately, the people out there like us.”
If you need help with a problem you can’t possibly solve by yourself, contact Spencer Solves It at 713-223-TIPS (8477) or email us at solvesit@click2houston.com.