Dallas Harris is a Habitat Hero. (Submitted photo)

BY DEBI HEIKS, HABITAT OF HUMANITY OF OTTAWA COUNTY

PORT CLINTON – In a world where we often look up to professional athletes, celebrities, and famous people, sometimes a true hero is simply someone in our own community who notices when another person needs help and chooses to do something about it.

For Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa County, one of those people is Dallas Harris of General Residential Services.

Dallas has completed a number of projects for homeowners through Habitat’s Critical Home Repair Program, but what has impressed us most is not only the quality of his work. It is the compassion he shows to the people he is helping.

Recently, Dallas was working at the home of a 94-year-old woman, building a deck to make it safer and easier for her to get in and out of her home with her walker.

While working outside one morning, Dallas turned off his saw and heard an unusual thump. Something didn’t seem right.

He realized he hadn’t seen the homeowner that morning, even though he normally would have seen her by that time. Rather than dismiss the sound and go back to work, Dallas said, “Something told me to check on her.”

When he went around to the back of the house, he found her lying on the ground.

She had tried to use the stairs at the back of her home and had fallen headfirst, suffering a significant cut to her head. Dallas immediately took off his shirt and used it to help control the bleeding. He called 911, called for a neighbor to assist, and stayed with her until emergency responders arrived.

Had Dallas not been there, or had he not cared enough to stop what he was doing and check on her, the outcome could have been very different.

Dallas also noticed another challenge for the same homeowner. Getting to her mailbox wasn’t easy or particularly safe, so he purchased a mailbox that opens from both sides, allowing her to retrieve her mail without having to leave the safety of her porch.

But that isn’t the only reason we consider Dallas a Habitat Hero.

At another home, Dallas built a ramp for a couple who were struggling with mobility. While he was there, he noticed how difficult it was for them to carry their groceries into the house.

After the job was finished, Dallas went to Walmart on his own dime and purchased a folding shopping cart for them so they could more easily bring their groceries up their new ramp and into their home.

And then there was another homeowner whose house Dallas had been working on.

One day, Dallas stopped by our office. I asked him what he was doing for the rest of the day.

He told me his girlfriend was waiting in the car because the two of them were heading back to one of the homeowner’s houses.

While Dallas had been working there, they had noticed that she was having difficulty keeping up with the housework and that her home was dusty. So Dallas and his girlfriend decided, on their own time, to go back and clean her house for her.

No one asked them to do it.

There was no work order.

There was no paycheck.

They simply saw someone who could use a little help and decided to help.

That is what a Habitat Hero looks like.

It isn’t always someone famous, celebrated, or making headlines. Sometimes a hero is someone wearing work boots, carrying a toolbox, building a ramp or a deck, and paying enough attention to the people around him to recognize when they need something more.

At Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa County, we talk a lot about building homes, repairing homes, and helping people live safely and independently. But what makes this work truly special are people like Dallas who bring compassion into those homes along with their tools.

Dallas Harris and General Residential Services have gone above and beyond for the homeowners we serve, and Dallas has shown again and again that kindness doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes it is noticing. Sometimes it is listening. And sometimes it is simply choosing to help when you don’t have to.

We at Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa County are grateful to have Dallas working alongside us, and we believe his actions deserve to be recognized.

We thank Dallas Harris for being a true Habitat Hero.