My close personal friend and neighbor, Richard Shook, is in need of any and all assistance that you are able to organize or give.  This morning, September 25th, his garage caught fire burning more than just the structure, but his means of scraping by as well.




Richard is 64 years old, and worked in construction most of his life.  After a bad car wreck a few years ago, he became disabled and unable to continue to work.  Since then, he has been living off of any small handyman projects he can manage to do.  He was flooded by Hurricane Harvey, but without flood insurance, he’s been drawing on his construction experience and slowly repairing his home since, but has still not finished due to his disability and lack of financial resources.  Due to some remaining flood damage, he was denied homeowners insurance recently, which serves to multiply the tragedy of this fire.  All of his tools he uses to earn a little extra by doing handyman work in the neighborhood were in the garage.  This all but eliminates his ability to work on the house himself or earn any extra income.




Richard is extremely likable, and is always willing and constantly helping others in the neighborhood and community as best he is able.  He is my friend, and I don’t know what he’s going to do after this fire.