By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN, mrellahan@dailylocal.com

As an application interviewer for Good Works Inc., the volunteer home repair agency, Sandy Morrison talks with homeowners throughout the central Chester County area about their needs.

Recently, the 57-year-old West Chester resident went to visit a man in Coatesville who needed help with a leaking roof. But he also heard from the man’s neighbor that the homeowner, who considered himself a bit of a handy man, had tried to do the work himself.

The problem? The resident was 80 years old, with a chest condition that forced him to use a portable oxygen tank. He carried the tank with him in a makeshift backpack as he climbed a ladder to get to the second-story roof.

For Morrison, the man’s determination to work on his own home to keep it in good repair, even though it put him in some danger of injury, is illustrative of the lengths many homeowners will go to stay in their house even when it has become financially difficult. The man, whose wife died within the year, had exhausted his retirement benefits and was trying to save money by doing repairs himself.

He will be considered for help by Good Works, one of two county agencies that receive financial assistance from the United Way of Chester County’s Share the Warmth program, which will receive funds again this year from the Daily Local News’ holiday fundraising campaign.

It is part of Morrison’s job to talk with homeowners to see what they believe their needs are and to then meet with them at their homes to determine what the scope of the work actually is. A homeowner may have a leaking roof, but also need new windows or a new bathroom floor.

Good Works completes all of its repair work at no cost to the homeowner, once he or she has been found financially deserving.

“Your heart goes out to the people who are living in homes like these,” Morrison said recently. Older residents, he said, often make the choice between keeping their homes warm and safe or putting three meals on the table each day. Like the 80-year-old Coatesville man, they also try to do things around the house they are physically challenged to do.

But if they fall or are injured, it puts in jeopardy even more their ability to stay put, Morrison said.

He said the people he works with many times do not want to ask for help, and are embarrassed at having to do so. “It is tough for them to have to come to that place,” he said. “They say, ‘I feel bad getting help like this.’ But we tell them that we help everyone who needs it. The reason we try to help people is because God has asked us to help him in the community.” Continued…

This year, as it has for the past 22 seasons, the Daily Local News is asking its readers to contribute to our annual holiday giving campaign. This year, as we have since 2007, the newspaper will donate every dollar it receives from you, our readers and supporters, to the United Way’s Share the Warmth program.

In turn, all the money our readers send to the United Way through us will be turned over to the two area volunteer agencies — Good Works of Coatesville and Good Neighbors of Kennett Square — that join in the Share the Warmth program. Not one dollar is spent on anything except keeping people warm and safe.

Over the years, Share the Warmth has provided the funds to replace more than 230 sets of windows, done 59 roof repairs, installed over 40 heaters, and complete dozens of other home repairs. The United Way has donated a total of $549,000 to the agencies to help keep homeowners warm and safe.

Even though Chester County is among the wealthiest of all counties in the United States, there are those in our midst who must make hard choices during the winter months between staying warm and paying other household expenses — even food.

The Share the Warmth program is as easy to understand as it is a blessing to county residents. Those who need help with a heating bill, a full tank of home heating oil, a patched roof, a new furnace or heater are identified by those two agencies that deal with low-income homeowners.

Good Neighbors and Good Works submit requests for approved families to the United Way, and that agency gives grants averaging between $5,000 and $7,000 to help those homeowners stay warm.

We are asking you to show the same generosity you have for the past two years again this holiday season.

Last year, readers of the Daily Local News contributed more than $36,000 to the Share the Warmth campaign.

Donations come in various amounts and from all sorts of people. Individuals and families contribute. School classes make donations in lieu of teachers’ gifts. Businesses make offerings in the names of employees or employers. Contributions also come from Boy and Girl Scout troops, as well as anonymous donors.

Contributions to the program can be addressed to Share the Warmth, c/o Daily Local News, 250 N. Bradford Ave., West Chester, PA 19382, Attention: Andy Hachadorian, editor.