The power of a helping hand

By Emma Peterson. 

A local company partners with two other organizations to gift a veteran in Missouri a roof replacement worth over $4,000. 

Through a collaboration with Detroit’s Habitat for Humanity and the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project, Ross Schnoerherr and his roofing company got another passion project. Since 1995, Schnoerherr Roofing has sent out crews multiple times per year to replace roofs at no cost to the homeowner. Their most recent project, a complete tear-off and installation of a new roof for a veteran in Dearborn Heights, Missouri.  

The collaboration was crucial to the success of this project. Detroit’s Habitat for Humanity’s role was connecting the veteran with the donating companies. Britney Johnson, from Habitat for Humanity, went into detail with Press & Guide, explaining that, “This was our first roof deployment, but we’ve done other full home assessments. We also work with some other partners to provide the first-time home buyer programs, and the full home assessments.” She went on to explain the process in detail, saying, “The homeowner was referred to Habitat Detroit, and placed into our critical home repair program. From there, we identified his needs, in this case a roof, and we helped him apply with Owens Corning.”  

Owens Corning hosts the Roof Deployment Project that aids veterans like the one Britney and Habitat for Humanity sent to the company. The program was established in 2016 and provides materials for reroofing projects at no cost and uses their network of contractors to donate the installation labor.  

One of those contractors is Schnoerherr Roofing. They joined the project in 2020, with Ross being partially motivated because of his own family’s involvement in multiple branches of the military. This project was the second of 2023 for Schnoerherr Roofing and not the last! Ross discussed plans to do at least two more free reroofs, including a Veterans Day project funded completely by themselves. 

Photo source: Press & Guide