ORANGE, Calif. — Just in time for Southern California’s rainy season, the deteriorated roof on Orange County Rescue Mission’s House of Hope was replaced with a new one, free of charge. The way it happened, however, recalled an earlier era of cooperative action: one man asked for help from others in the roofing industry and they answered the call.

Founded in 1994, House of Hope provides transitional housing, sobriety support, and life skills coaching for approximately 65 formerly homeless and employed women and children each year. Hundreds of struggling county residents have been helped through the efforts of this organization.

Charles Antis, founder and CEO of Antis Roofing and Waterproofing, received a call from House of Hope’s Chief Development Officer Anna Song.

“She said the roof was old, it was leaking, could we possibly replace it,” Antis said. “I was uncomfortable because I knew we were at capacity with our roof giving."

The next morning, he had an idea. Antis drove to House of Hope and went up on the roof. He created a 30-second video with some of his roofers. He briefly described the need and asked anyone to contact him if they could help. The video was sent out to all of Antis’ colleagues in the local roofing industry.

The response was huge. Klondike Construction and Shell Roofing Solutions tackled the tear-off of the old roof. Antis, Best Contracting Services and Shell provided free construction labor; and GAF and Beacon handled all of the necessary materials for the new roof. Wing Lam, Wahoo’s founder and co-founder of California Love Drop, provided lunch for all of the crew and volunteers.

“I’m really excited about this because of how it happened: through all of us willing to give a small act of kindness,” Antis said in a speech during the event.

Orange County Supervisor Don Wagner attended the event and bestowed certificates of appreciation on Jim Palmer, president of OC Rescue Mission, and to Antis.

House of Hope is one of many programs run by the Orange County Rescue Mission.