Viewers pitch in to give man a roof over his head

Viewers pitch in to give man a roof over his head

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Story Published: Aug 11, 2008 at 6:20 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 12:28 AM PDT

By KOMO Staff

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SEATTLE -- A Seattle man battling cancer is finally getting the help he needs, thanks to a local roofing company that stepped in to help.

When we first met Charles Bowman a few weeks ago, rats and other rodents were invading his house through a hole in his roof. But soon, that hole will be there no more.

Monday was a noisy day at Bowman's house, but the noise was music to his ears.

It's the sound of a new roof.

The old roof's hole was about 2-feet wide -- enough to be a home to critters from rats, to squirrels -- even a family of raccoons.

"It's real bad," said Ed Little, the project foreman. "I haven't seen a roof this bad for a long time."

But the homeowner has bigger problems. He's fighting prostate cancer, and between medical bills and a mortgage, fixing his roof at a cost of nearly $30,000 just wasn't an option.

He contacted the KOMO Problem Solvers, we did a story, and our viewers took action.

"They saw this on Problem Solvers and they just looked at each other and said, 'let's get involved,' " said Pat Coaker.

Pat's son owns Mike's Roofing and saw Bowman's story. Then, they started making calls.

"We went to our suppliers and said this is what we want to do and they all just jumped on board," Pat Coaker said.

Plywood, metal, and pipes were all donated to give the Bowman's a new roof. They called the Bowman's with the news.

"A very reputable roofing company called me out of the blue and said 'I'm responding to KOMO 4 Problem Solvers and we'd like to do your roof," said Marquette Bowman, Charles' daughter. "I was just in shock."

Marquette gave her dad the first good news he's heard in a long time.

"He was like 'wow!' and he was in a lot of pain that I remember that day," Marquette Bowman said. "And he just kind of lit up."

Work then began on the new roof Monday.

"It just restored my faith in humanity that there are people out there who care and want to help people," Marquette Bowman said.

The giving didn't end there. Mike's roofing also brought in hundreds of dollars in groceries, donated by their insurance company.

"I have no words to say expect thank you, million thanks," Marquette Bowman said.

The roof should be complete by the end of the week.

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