Hurricane Harvey flipped this family's trailer home in Port Aransas, Texas, leaving them homeless -- all that, plus a new baby born just a couple days later. Thankfully, a generous Colorado home builder entered the scene.
The heart-wrenching stories coming out of Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey are plentiful. The news coverage is filled with devastating reports that, from here, are hard to even imagine. But over the next few months, stories of survival will emerge, one by one, showing the strength of the human spirit and the beauty that occurs when people come together to pick up the scattered pieces. The hope-filled story of one contractor's incredible generosity is just the beginning.
William and Danielle Weeks and their two children evacuated their Port Aransas trailer home last Thursday, August 24, packing their car with as many belongings as they could fit and riding out the hurricane in a Corpus Christi Holiday Inn. They couldn't travel too far, because Danielle was nine months pregnant -- due any day with their third child -- and the family was ordered by doctors to stay close-by. On Tuesday, August 29, Danielle gave birth to their daughter, and on Wednesday, William returned to Port Aransas to meet with a FEMA representative and review the sand-covered debris at their mangled home -- which Hurricane Harvey had flipped and ultimately destroyed. The newly minted family of five was suddenly homeless.
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Enter Nelson Builders, a family-owned home builder based in Durango, Colorado.
In light of the devastation the Weeks family has experienced, the Colorado contractor is donating the 333-square-foot "tiny house" they built this past spring. Originally listed for $69,900, the Weeks' new home will be a 28-foot-long tiny house built on an Iron Eagle trailer. It features a large master loft, a smaller sleeping loft with storage, a tile shower with wine barrel bathtub, and washer and dryer hook-ups -- a space just perfect for the young family to be comfortable as they get back on their feet.
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We have been very blessed, and Nelson Builders is donating the tiny house we completed a few months ago to the Weeks family in Corpus Christi," Nelson Builders posted on Facebook on Wednesday. "They have nothing left after Harvey destroyed their home and family car. Yesterday they had a new baby girl, and in 24 hours they will be released into the world with nothing."Sporting an "oh-so-Colorado" rustic exterior design, the tiny house also includes tons of interior and exterior storage space and quality amenities, like granite countertops, custom woodwork, energy-efficient windows, LED electrical fixtures, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and a split heat/air unit. Founded by Steve Nelson, a licensed contractor, Nelson Builders specializes in new construction, custom home builds, renovations, and home maintenance repairs. Tiny houses are just one division of the builder -- a company that's certified with the National Organization of Alternative Housing (NOAH).
At Nelson Builders, we build high quality, one-of-a kind tiny houses on trailers that are intended to be permanent homes for our clients," the company's website states.Nelson Builders is currently in the process of shipping the home to Texas, where they hope to start setting it up for the Weeks family on Wednesday. However, the exact site is still undecided, since the Port Aransas area is expected to be in rebuilding mode for at least two years. In the meantime, the Weeks family is just happy to be safe, healthy, and together. "We're very blessed," William Weeks said, referring to the children's clothes and diapers that they've also received from generous people in the area. "We've got a good community." Click here to see ABC's special report on the Weeks family. For more information on how you, too, can help them, visit their GoFundMe page.
What do you think about the generosity of this home builder? Do you know of other heartwarming stories of how people have come together in the face of the hurricane devastation? We at OCN want to hear about them! Please leave a comment below!
