HomeServe Cares Foundation Comes Through for WV Family

Follansbee, WV – Carol Z. and her family moved into their Follansbee home more than a decade ago after inheriting it from her grandmother, but there were problems from the start – there was no working electricity or gas service.

Over the years, they learned to adapt to those challenges. To navigate their home in the dark, Carol, who is disabled, and her family used headlamps, and, to keep warm in the winter, they huddled around portable heaters. Healthways Inc., a community social service provider, learned about the family’s difficulties after Carol applied for assistance for her disability and assisted the family with the purchase of wood and kerosene.

“Carol is a wonderful person who has been working diligently to overcome the many obstacles her disability and circumstances has put in front of her,” Hannah Minger, community engagement specialist at Healthways, said.

Hannah, who assists Carol with accessing community resources, first became aware of the challenges the family was facing in June when Carole confided that she didn’t have access to hot water in her home. Carol’s child, who was helping support their parents, was able to have electrical service reconnected after nearly 10 years.

Leveraging her community contacts, Hannah looked for a solution to assist Carol and have a new hot water tank installed. Then, she learned that not only did Carol’s home not have a working hot water tank, but the house had no gas service at all. In fact, the utility’s portion of the gas service line had been retired in 2018, because the home had been without service for so long.

That’s when Hannah thought of the HomeServe Cares Foundation, the philanthropical arm of HomeServe North America. The Foundation provides pro bono home repairs to qualifying homeowners.

Hannah and another member of the Healthways team, therapist Nicole Husk, encouraged Carol to apply for aid through the program, something Carol would not have done even a few years ago.

“It’s very brave of her,” Nicole said. “She has come so far in two years and being able to ask for help from the community just shows how much she has grown in that time. I could not have asked anyone to work harder than Carol has done.”

Tammy G., a HomeServe customer experience specialist, received Carol’s application and reached out the same day to assist Carol to understand what her needs were.

“Miss Carol is such a sweet lady,” Tammy said. “What a joy to help someone when they think they have no place to turn.”

Cipoletti Plumbing, a plumbing contractor from Wellsburg, previously gave the family a quote on replacing the gas service line, which had failed on the homeowner’s side. Tammy reached out to Cipoletti to see if they were able to take on both the gas line repair and replacing the water heater. The contractor agreed to the work, and the Foundation covered the more than $3,000 cost.

“What we do as an organization goes beyond partnering with municipalities to provide valuable repair services to residents, we also try to support the communities we serve,” Myles Meehan, Senior Vice President of Public Relations, said. “Having the opportunity to work with an organization like Healthways and helping Carol’s family brings it to life for us and our employees.”

The HomeServe Cares Foundation was introduced to the Follansbee area through a partnership the city has with Service Line Warranties of America, part of HomeServe, to provide local residents water and sewer line repair service plans.