One thing is for sure about Houston - we step up to help each other. A 92-year-old Houston navy veteran ‘DRAINED’ by his Houston water bill is in for a huge surprise. You may remember, Amy Davis first introduced you to Jessie Lara a few months ago. Since then, the entire community has pitched in to help.
High water bill leads to community effort to help war veteran
Lara’s niece reached out to us when she said her uncle’s bill was unmanageable, at some $5,000. We discovered he had an underground leak. A lot of people stepped up wanting to help Lara and we’ve shown you the progress along the way.
We showed you how a Katy plumbing company, 24/7 Plumbing, re-piped his whole home. But what happened next was simply amazing. The Restoration Team stepped up and has been piece by piece restoring and basically rebuilding Lara’s entire home.
Houston veteran Michael Main set up this Go Fund Me account to help Lara. Main stopped by Lara’s house to give him a check for more than $2,200.
*See also: web links related to fighting your high water bill.
He has a new HVAC system and his whole home has been rewired. Also, 18 windows in his home are being replaced. We stopped by this week to check out the progress.
The Restoration Team is repairing rotten wood flooring in the veteran’s home, building him a ramp to make it easier to get in and out of his home with his walker and doing some other improvements.
“It’s a lot brighter. A lot lighter. We’re down to two windows in the dining room that are being put in,” said John Work from The Restoration Team.
Lara is not staying at his house right now. He was in a rehabilitation center. His niece Betty sends us up updates.
Comcast gave Lara credits on his cable bill and donated a big-screen TV for his home. Harris County Veteran Services paid Lara’s remaining water and gas bills.
Others have reached out offering to help Lara. We will continue to share the stories of donations, kindness and generosity as we get them.
We cannot wait to show you the big reveal when Jessie Lara walks back into his home after all of the repairs and we want to share with you all of the companies and individuals who have stepped up to donate the work and equipment to help him out.
‘DRAINED’ KPRC 2 Investigates
This all started from an email to Amy Davis about a water bill issue. Here’s more from our ‘DRAINED’ series as we continue to investigate issues with Houston water bills in our area.
- Do you have a water bill question? Email Investigator Amy Davis or Producer Andrea Slaydon and we will work to find answers for you.
