PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – A local veteran can finally sleep in his own bed three years after Hurricane Michael tore the home apart.
Bill Locke is a veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
He and his wife Martha had been living in their Panama City home for 30 years until Hurricane Michael caused severe damage.
They have been living in a camper on the property since.
That is until Operation Blessing became aware of their situation.
Anthony Lloyd, the senior director of U.S. disaster relief, said the house was in severe disrepair.
“This home had been in a condition that needed repair for quite some time,” said Lloyd. “When we found out about it, we did our assessment, we found out that it had a lot of water damage and there were a lot of appliances that needed to be replaced so that’s when we took it on as a project.”
Lloyd also said his team had to replace most of the drywall and insulation, among other major projects including the plumbing.
But he said it was all worth it.
“It’s very impactful,” Lloyd said. “It hits you right in the heart when you find somebody in need and you can actually do something for them. So, it’s just the way that they change through the process and you do too because it hits them that somebody cares.”
Locke said that he is incredibly grateful for the organization and all the people who helped make this possible.
