The photos included here illustrate just one of the 80 stories of senior homeowners in Denton County that Hearts for Homes (H4H) serves. Her name is Ann Mathiasch, age 80, living on $1,178/month in social security. Ann is just a delightful, faith-filled woman with an infectious laugh and sunny outlook. She is a widow, grandma, mom and had served as a caregiver for others in need of assistance in their times of health crisis most of her career.
Ann came into the Hearts for Homes office this past year visibly distraught and tearful. She explained that she was unable to live in her home because of a long-standing leak that had gone undetected for months under her home causing mildew and rotting away the foundation to the point that the hot water heater literally fell through the floor. The City was demanding a huge water bill be paid and the repair estimates were several thousand dollars. As is the case with H4H clients, Ann survives on a fixed income so there was no possible way for her to afford these repairs on her own and she simply didn’t know where to turn for help.
She heard about Hearts for Homes, completed an application and was approved for assistance. When our team went in and evaluated the home repair needs, it was determined that the foundation beams, flooring, cabinets, and bathroom all had to be completely redone and the exterior walls reinforced in order to restore the home to a safe and livable state for Ann to live out her years. After several months and many teams of amazing volunteers, Ann and her cat were able to return home, walk on sturdy floors, enjoy a fully remodeled kitchen and safer bathroom, and reinforced walls to allow her to stay in the home her daddy built. She says she simply would not have been able to stay in her home if not for the work of Hearts for Homes and she thanks God for this ministry.
We serve our senior clients until they no longer need us. They become friends and we love them. Hearts for Homes staff and volunteers work hard to ensure their safety, help them with home repairs as needed and make sure they feel cared for as part of the overall ministry mission.
