Page 37 - November 2017 The Castle Pines Connection proof 2

Neighbors to Know
CastlePinesConnection.com 37 Good Samaritan joins relief e ort in aftermath of
Hurricane Harvey
By Daniel Williams; photos courtesy of Tom Matthews and Samaritan’s Purse
When Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas Gulf Coast, knocking out power, ooding homes, causing horri c devastation in its wake, Castle Pines resident Tom Matthews, like so many around the country, watched the reports and felt an emotional connection to those who were su ering. Initially, he made donations to the Salvation Army and Samaritan’s Purse, two of the organizations, he learned, that “do the most good” with every dollar.
However, he felt he should do more. Powerful images on the internet moved him to take action. Tom said, “I saw a SWAT o cer carrying a mother and her sleeping child and the Cajun Navy with their remarkable initiative and a can-do spirit that is uniquely American.”
There were so many other images that shaped Tom’s thinking; images of people helping and people working together to help others who had su ered so much hardship. “As a Christian, I believe the Lord put this on my heart, and I began to research what organizations in Houston could bene t from my [construction-related] skills.”
He found a good t with Samaritan’s Purse,
a nondenominational Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to victims of war, natural disasters, disease, famine, poverty and persecution in more than 100 countries. This year the organization has helped with relief e orts at Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, among others.
“Once we mobilize in an area, we look to do three main things for those in distress: Temporary roof repair to halt leaks; tree and debris cleanup, which can take up about 75 percent of our e orts; and muck outs,” said Randy Corn, a program manager with Samaritan’s Purse.
Randy said muck outs are vital to saving a home once it’s been ooded with at least four feet of water. All the furniture has to be taken out, all the insulation has to be removed to keep mold from spreading, and then a chemical is sprayed to kill the mold.
As an architect with expertise in design and construction, Tom said the muck outs t his skill set. “Mucking out houses, ripping out soggy and molding drywall in houses that had been ooded and preparing them for repair by general contractor – that is the kind of work I could get excited about doing.”
After receiving complete support from his wife to volunteer and having his son, Tommy, and friend Rick Reitz join him, Tom headed to Texas to help.
End-of-day prayer time with the two homeowners (seated on the tailgate), moving back into their house for rst time since the ood.
Tommy Matthews, in front of a typical scene where soaked furniture and demolition debris is piled up in front of houses...block after block after block.
As he saw the devastation rsthand, he relayed his thoughts to family and friends through text messages.
“The entire block was hit hard. Piles of furniture and construction debris in every yard ... the kind of loss on a scale that I’ve only seen in pictures. The owner of the house our team worked in, Mr. Byrd, was standing next to me
during the prayer circle at the end of the day. With tears in his eyes (and mine), he said, ‘I will never forget you. No, never.’ This made the entire enterprise worthwhile.”
For more information on how you can volunteer or donate to an organization during a disaster, go to Colorado VOAD at covoad.communityos.org/ cms/home.