Matthew House gets volunteer help,
needs more repair

by POLLY KEARY, EDITOR

Any home built in 1910 is going to require some focused upkeep. But a home built in 1910 that gets 2,000 visitors a year requires a lot more than that. Matthew House, the non-profit organization located near the prison that provides hospitality to the families of prison inmates is getting some maintenance help from a group of volunteers this Saturday. The group, a cooperative work group made up of six Monroe families that have been helping each other do such chores for more than 20 years, will address the giant mud puddles that fill after each rain in front of the house and in the back yard.

They will put up rain gutters where they don't exist and install a French drain in the front. They will also spruce the place up, painting several interior rooms and refurbishing a small bathroom. The collective work group occasionally does volunteer work, such as building a gazebo at Salem Woods Elementary, and this seemed like a very worthy job, said member Sam Lockwood. "Literally, they go from nickel to nickel down there," he said.

That is true, said Linda Paz, director of Matthew House, and that is why she has a long wish list of chores that still need to be done. "This house is so old now," she said. "It's an old building. It takes quite a bit of time now, taking care of it."

Matthew House was founded in 1979, when Father Richard Stohr, a Catholic prison chaplain, saw the need for help for the wives and children of incarcerated men. He raised money in the community, then bought the house at the corner of 177th Avenue S.E. and Main Street. After several years, three small apartments were added so that families who were visiting from out of town could spend the night.

Stohr died of cancer in 1995, but the organization has grown greatly since.
Paz, who took it over several years ago, said that maintenance problems are backing up. "There used to be two downstairs bathrooms, one for men and one for women," she said, gesturing at a white locked door with a rectangle of bare wood on it where the sign reading "men" used to be. "The men's toilet stopped working."

"A lot of pipes are breaking," added Deborah Paz, Linda's daughter, who works part time at the house as an assistant. "A pipe just burst in one of our apartments." As the old house settles, some of the plumbing breaks, Paz said.
And there is so much work to be done to the small apartments, Paz said one day she hopes to find sponsors for them.

"I would love to have people or businesses adopt a room every three to six months," she said. "We'd put up a small plaque in each room to let the girls know who this person or that family fixed the room up and brought the sheets."

The carpets need to be replaced, too, she said, sighing. They were donated, and they were beautiful, but they couldn't withstand the number of visitors the house gets. They need commercial grade carpet, Paz said. Heaters need to be fixed. A sink needs repair. "Imagine a couple thousand people going through your house each year," said Paz. "It's so much wear and tear."

Here is the Matthew House wish list:
• Paint upstairs hallway.
• Finish some unfinished molding around the back door and food pantry door.
• Install three plastic covers for the wall thermostats.
• Repair downstairs menÕs bathroom.
• Move the hookup for the washer and dryer.
• Repair the kitchen sink.
• Put some bark outside and do some landscaping.
• Install and blinds in the living room.
• Paint one small apartment.
• Fix a heater in the clothing room.
• Paint the downstairs hall.

Matthew House also needs:
• Three telephones
• Three toasters
• A weed eater
• A van to hold eight passengers
• Three wall clocks
• Three shower curtains and rug sets for floor and toilets
• A large extending ladder than can reach the second floor (their's was stolen)
• Two garden hoses

To contribute, call Matthew House at (360) 794-8720. Donations can be mailed to: Matthew House, P.O. Box 201, Monroe, WA 98272.

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