Strangers repair elderly man's roof after neighbor's public plea for help

75-year-old Richard Dubiel’s “faith in humanity” was restored after strangers turned up at his home to help him fix his roof.

Neighbor David Parez appealed for volunteers in a post on Facebook on August 25, 2015, and was surprised when about a dozen people turned up.

A resident of Fremont, California, Dubiel is someone who likes to do things himself instead of depending on others. ‘For three months, the 75-year-old had been replacing the shingles on his house all by himself. A company delivered the items, but he chose to do the job himself without asking for help.

However, when his neighbor David Perez spotted the elderly man busy at work, he stepped in to help. He took to Facebook to check if anyone with expertise could lend a hand.

The post quickly went viral gaining more attention than he could have hoped for – it was shared over 1,400 times.

‘He is about 80 years old and climbs onto the roof trying to finish putting the shingles on by himself. I feel sorry for him, but I have no roofing skills. I would like to see if anyone can donate their time to help him finish.’

David Perez, Facebook, August 25, 2015.

With help on the way, Perez went over to Dubiel’s house to inform him about the plan. Just four days later, on August 29, dozens of people came together to help the man in need, reported KTVU.

The man’s house had started to cave in due to El Nino’s rain and strong winds. He was working to get the roof in shape since then.

Sharing his experience with the people he would hire to get things done, he said they do it quickly without a worry about the quality of their work.

People had even driven for hours to help Dubiel out. What would have taken him weeks to finish on his own was completed within three hours.

The 75-year-old man said that the actions had restored his faith in humanity. In fact, he was taken aback when Perez had knocked on his door and offered to help for free.

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