‘It just means so much to me”: Group builds family a new porch

Published 5:30 pm Monday, December 16, 2019

Sam Smith of Hand Up Network wasn’t expecting a call from the fire department, but when he received the plea asking if his organization could step in and lend a hand, he knew he had to help.

“The city of Tyler Fire Department had been getting frequent calls to Mrs. Moore’s home,” Smith said. “Basically the situation was that her granddaughter had had significant health issues and can’t walk, she’s bedridden. So the fire department was being called out every time she needed to go to the doctor.”

While she was well, Christia Franklin, granddaughter of homeowner Irene Moore, had done most of the housework. Moore lost her husband in 2017, and said things had been difficult since he died. Christia helped lighten the load.

“I’ve got my crutches, arthritis, high blood pressure, diabetes,” Moore said. “You name it, I got it.”

But now, after tearing her colon, Franklin and her grandmother are both battling health issues. Neither of them are mobile, so they called the fire department to help transport Christia to her doctor’s appointments.

“They make sure that I get to the ambulance safe and out safe; and they were like, ‘This porch really needs some help.’ I just told them, ‘I can’t afford it.’”

“Needs some help” indeed. The top deck of the porch had rotted nearly all the way through, and Moore had already fallen through it once.

“The family needs our help,” Smith said. “We went over there, took a look at it and made an assessment of what was happening and we felt like we could do that.”

Hand Up Network specializes in helping people, giving them a “hand up” out of their situation. Whether it is homelessness, substance abuse problems or a broken front porch, Hand Up Network tries to help those who ask for intervention and are willing to let the organization help them.

“We put together this team, went over and have stabilized that porch and handicap ramp,” Smith said. “Now when she needs to go to the doctor she can actually do it safely without putting a lot of people at risk.”

Moore finally feels like she can enjoy her front porch. “I didn’t come out here much, because I didn’t want to fall no more.”

For Sam Smith, it’s just another day of doing what he feels like he’s called to do: organize task forces and help others.

“If you have the ability to use your skills combine it with the skills of others, and together become so much stronger, it’s a very powerful thing.”

But for Moore and Franklin, it’s a dream come true.

“It just means so much to me,” Moore said. “I can’t help that tears come because they fixed it for me. I said, ‘It’s a miracle, God will make a way somehow,’ and Lord, He has made a way.”

Hand Up Network is a Christian organization that works with the community to get those in need back on their feet. The organization avoids a traditional “handout” to those in need, saying it instead empowers those who want to change their circumstances. It works in conjunction with various other organizations to create programs tailored to the needs of those being helped. Hand Up Network works in the East Texas area through various response teams, which are trained for community service, outreach, prayer and support, and disaster response. Reach them at handupnetwork.com, 903-597-5334.