Nonprofit helps fix seniors’ homes
Houston Health Foundation crews planning major repairs with a donation from Aramco
When Kenneth Castilow walked into his house for the first time in three days, all he could do was cry.
The water pipe that snaked through his kitchen ceiling had burst during the winter storm.
Water poured through a ceiling light fixture onto the floor, filling the room with several inches. The faucets wouldn’t work, and as of Saturday, 63-year-old Castilow hadn’t had running water for nearly two weeks in his house.
“Things happen, but you still have to praise God,” he said.
On Saturday, crews with the Houston Health Foundation surveyed the damage to Castilow’s home in Sunnyside and made plans for replacing the pipes and his water heater, thanks in part to a $500,000 donation from Aramco to the nonprofit. In all, Aramco donated $1 million to help seniors and lower income residents recover from the winter storm in Houston and Port Arthur.
The foundation partnered with the Harris County Area Agency on Aging and the Houston Health Department to get the work done. Deborah Moore, assistant director of the Health Department, said the agency used its Meals on Wheels database to contact seniors to see whether their homes were damaged as a result of the winter storm.
“We hope to help at least 200 or 300 people,” Moore said.
“We will do whatever we need to.”
Castilow’s home was the second to be repaired, said Rick Gamble, a community service inspector with the Health Department. The first home’s ceiling had caved in due to a burst pipe, with insulation and damp sheetrock laying across the floor.
The damage to Castilow’s home was mainly in the kitchen, but there was also some damage in a room where he has kept his wife’s belongings since she died in 2016. Her keepsakes were spared, but the ceiling bowed precariously above them. Outside, Gamble pointed to Castilow’s hot water heater, which had exposed wires hanging from the top. Gamble said it would need to be replaced with a gas unit, and that all the repairs would likely cost about $4,000.
Castilow retired from his job as a commercial painter shortly after his wife died, and while he said he likely could have covered the cost of repairs, it would take him months to save and do all the work himself. His voice broke as he thanked the workers inspecting his home.
“I’m blessed, this is a blessing,” he said as he covered his mouth. “Thank God for these people.”