Water is an essential part of our lives. We need it to drink, wash our clothes, water our garden and clean ourselves. Hence, a good plumbing system is essential for us to gain access to clean and potable water.
However, there are days when our plumbing system doesn’t work.
It’s the same way with a good heating system. A heating system is important to keep you and your family warm during the winter. Running out of water is the worst experience especially if you need water to cook and clean your home. Add onto it is a broken furnace then it is truly a recipe for disaster.
These are the common problems experienced by elderly homes that don’t have the money to afford a new heating and plumbing system. With this, more than 17,000 people died in the UK last year due to cold homes and fuel poverty.
One man has saved over 11,000 homes from freezing in the cold winter by offering his services for free.
It’s unusual for plumbers to offer their services, but this man from Lanchester proves us all wrong.
The Hero Plumber
James Anderson who lives in Lancashire, England has provided free plumbing services to the disabled and elderly since 2017. Anderson, 53, launched a non-profit community interest company called Depher that provides free works for the elderly. They mostly rely on donations and crowdfunding to keep their operations afloat.
As much as they can, Anderson wants to provide his services for free. However, when the need arises, he is forced to charge a minimal fee. And it truly paid off!
For over 4 years, this kind-hearted man and his company have helped over 11,000 families.
Anderson has been working 70 hours a week without taking a day off just to provide the necessary services to the elderly homes who needed free boiler installations, free bathroom installations, and free repairs.
The story behind Depher
Depher (Disabled and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response) started when Anderson was called to an elderly’s home for a second opinion.
A heating company wanted to charge the elderly and disabled man £5,500 ($7,478) for a new boiler when it all needed was a simple part replacement.
These companies are exploiting old and disabled people’s money. Being the Good Samaritan that he was, he created Depher to offer free services to the vulnerable in his community.
But, this wasn’t the only problem they faced.
During the pandemic
The pandemic has truly been hard for everyone. As the hero we all know, Anderson did not only offer free services, but gave out food parcels, donated PPE, and even paid the bills of families in need.
Wow! He is a real-life Superman!
“We started off just doing plumbing and heating, but we saw so many people struggling it felt like it was wrong to stop there,” he said. “Anything we can do, we will try to do.”
Anderson has spent £57,000 ($77,505) during this pandemic alone. It may have cost him a lot, but it was worth it knowing many people are safe and alive inside their homes.
“If you’ve got disabilities, issues, sometimes these things can become too difficult to overcome and we want to make sure they’re taken care of,” Anderson said.
Anderson launched a fundraiser to help thousands of households make it through the cold winter months.
His act of kindness gained media attention after a photo of a 91-year old woman with leukemia went viral. The photo shows £0 for a boiler repair.
“No charge for this lady under any circumstances. We will be available 24 hours to help her and keep her as comfortable as possible.”
Many people around the world salute Anderson’s actions. Today, he is working with plumbers in Lancashire, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, and parts of Scotland. He wishes to cover the entire UK to help more people.
May James Anderson inspire us to help those in need.
Watch more in the video below!
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