Mr. Ochiltree Jr. stands on the far left as he wears his Vietnam Veteran baseball cap.

Vietnam Veteran Wilbur Ochiltree, Jr., who suffers from COPD due to his exposure to Agent Orange, connected with our Greenville Case Coordinator Janice Oliver through the VA. His house did not have hot water and had mold and rot from the roof leak. Because of the rot and mold, he used a sponge and a bucket to bathe in his kitchen. In addition, he could not get homeowner’s insurance, until someone fixed the roof, and was about to lose his home. That is when he went to Janice for help. Knowing these issues, Janice submitted Mr. Ochiltree’s information to Emmanuel’s Hammer.

Our Outreach Coordinator Chad Wooten told Janice there was a church in the area, looking for a veteran to help. Janice thought of Mr. Ochiltree, who was unable to take a shower and about to lose his home, and submitted his information to the church. She figured one of the two organizations would accept the case. If they both accepted, she thought it could be a collaborated effort.

Emmanuel’s Hammer and the local church both accepted the case and went to work. Because there were so many necessary repairs, Emmanuel’s Hammer requested volunteers on their website so this veteran might be able to take a hot shower in his own house by Christmas.

Our team decided to step in again and assembled a small crew to help the two organizations on December 18. We helped them empty the veteran’s bedroom, pull up the carpet, and place laminate flooring in two rooms.

With a collaborated effort from our team, Emmanuel’s Hammer, and the local church, Mr. Ochiltree moved back into his renovated house in time for the holidays!