Help Richard Johnson Fix His Home

Hi my name is Matthew Herrmann and I'm a golf course superintendent in the Philadelphia area. Richard is one of my employees who commutes by public transit from West Philadelphia almost every day to help us prepare the course for championship conditions.

Richard was hired before I arrived and I was quickly impressed by his level of care, detail, and pride he put into his everyday tasks. The more we developed a relationship I learned about the hardships he faced previously leading up to employment, including owning his own business shining shoes. His contract ending greatly affected his livelihood.  Richard's car was repossessed last September causing him to take the bus to work everyday.

He is forced to live in these unimaginable conditions because if he leaves the house he's owned since 1989 it will be demolished by the city of Philadelphia. Hurricane Ida only exacerbated problems, and I'm very concerned for his well being.

I asked him if I could help by starting this GoFundMe as I didn't want to embarrass him but he is an example of how many Americans are living in extreme poverty and need help. He responded eagerly by saying, "of course I need help I have a hole in my roof."

I've asked him if he's exploring government safety nets, but has had no success to date. Most of his meals are leftovers from our lunch at the club, we're fortunate we can help in this way. I'm asking everyone to reach into their pockets to help Richard, no one in America should live under these conditions.

Pray for Richard and please donate.