BETHEL, Ohio — A family in Bethel has spent the winter months without hot water running through their pipes.
"About four, five months, maybe? I mean ... we're on a fixed income, and we just don't earn a lot of money," David Stumpf said.
Stumpf told me he has three daughters with autism. Back in January, one of his daughters needed assistance, and a Bethel officer arrived. After helping her, the officer returned and asked if the family needed any other assistance.
"My dad told him that our hot water heater was broken," said Kaitlyn, Stumpf's daughter.
Watch to see how a local nonprofit was able to jump in and help a family needing hot water:
The officer then reached out to a local church, which connected the family with John Hopper, co-founder of 3 Nails Management Services.
I first met Hopper in late December, after he helped a woman in Ohio Township who had serious issues with her water pipes and roof.
Hopper told me that since our story less than two months ago, he's had an influx of contractors offering help and families letting them know they need assistance.
"It's exactly what I want to do," Hopper said. "This is what I want to do every day of my life ... just try to help people who are struggling."
Hopper spent the morning at the Stumpf home, taking out the old, broken device and putting in a new, functioning one.
"Something like this, simple switch, is usually about two hours," Hopper said.
After getting the swap completed, it was time to test the water's temperature. Finally, the Stumpf family had hot water again.
"I feel ecstatic, it is so great," Stumpf said. "Like I said, we're going to have a line to the shower today."
Hopper told me that as he works to live out his mission, his organization continually needs the support of others in the community to keep it going.
"Some of them are whole roofs need (to be) replaced, or whole areas of flooring need (to be) replaced. So those are a lot bigger projects than what this took, so it's just finding the resources to be able to make that happen," Hopper said.
You can find out more about the work Hopper and 3 Nails Management Services do and how to help here.
