TYLER, Texas — The coronavirus may have put a lot of things on pause, but not for non-profits continuing to help people in need. Instead, the need has increased for the Habitat for Humanity of Smith County.
"We see the most unbelievable things," Rebecca Berkley, Director of Development for Habitat for Smith County, said. "We had one guy who was using a sheet as his door. Another guy who had no running water and all these years have been using a well and had never tapped into water from the county that he could have."
People with disabilities, veterans, elderly and low-income families around Smith County are dealing with similar situations, if not worse.
"We go out there, we help people with these different problems in their homes. And so they can stay safely there," Berkley said.
For more than 30 years, Habitat for Humanity in Smith County has provided for those individuals in need.
"We typically are doing about 150 of those projects a year in seven counties in East Texas," she said.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the work hasn't stopped.
"Our phones have been ringing a lot because more people are staying home and they're realizing they have a lot of problems with their homes that they cannot afford to fix," she said. "If it weren't for programs, like what habitat has, they wouldn't have these problems rectified and they would continue to live with them."
With the help of federal, state, local grants and donations, the organization is able to rebuild and rehome. For families that need help with utility assistance, families can receive up to $250 through the non-profit's community block grant.
"Requirements are on our website. We hope people will look at those and see if they qualify," Berkley said.