When his father died in February 2019, Danny Stone made a solemn promise to fulfill his dad’s vision — open a facility to help parolees get a new start. The concept became a reality with the help of Atlas Roofing.

The Restoration of Hope house in Texarkana, TX, opened its doors recently — complete with a new roof — to help former offenders find a better path. For Stone, the success is bittersweet. Stone knew his father Ross felt helpless watching his sons stumble over and over in a drug addiction-incarceration cycle. Ross had always wanted to open a place for men to transition from incarceration to a better life, but he died before any real groundwork could begin.

Over the past months, the Christian ministry and the Stone Foundation nonprofit have been renovating a 6,000-square-foot facility to serve as living and learning space in the eastern Texas city. Ultimately, the Restoration of Hope facility will house 24 people at a time.

“My father wanted me to help him, but I was never able to get my life together long enough to help him do this,” said Stone, who is recovering from drug addiction. “After he died, I wrote a letter of commitment to him that I hung on the wall. I’ve been honoring it ever since.”

Providing a Fresh Start

As further proof of the Stone family’s commitment to the dream, Sheila Stone, Danny’s mom and Ross’s wife, launched the Stone Foundation nonprofit for the project. But even though the foundation funded over $250,000 in renovations, even more needed to be done — like a new roof.

Instead of waiting for a donation to land in his lap, Stone started making calls. One of the first was to Cody Mullen, quality control manager for Atlas. Mullen wasted no time, knowing the project deadline was fast approaching.

Within three days of Stone’s call, Atlas approved the donation:

• 100 squares of ProLam™ architectural shingles in Desert Shake
• 10 rolls of Summit® 60 synthetic underlayment
• 12 bundles of Pro-Cut® Hip & Ridge shingles featuring Scotchgard™ Protector
• 10 bundles of Pro-Cut® Starter shingles

Mullen said he moved quickly to get the donation in place to ensure the project finished on time. He said Restoration of Hope and the Stone Foundation fill a hole in services for so many residents.

“We know that without help from the Stone Foundation some of the individuals housed there will lose a chance to make a fresh start on life and go on to contribute to the community in their own way,” Mullen said.

Building Community

Today, the Restoration of Hope home provides all the necessities for men seeking a new beginning — food, shelter, clothing and, most importantly, accountability. Participants attend courses to examine their faith and learn more about anger management, financial planning and other important skills. They work and volunteer in the community and learn how to acclimate to life outside of incarceration. The ultimate goal is to help attendees find themselves.

“It’s like painting a car that doesn’t run. What's the point?” Stone said. “Instead, we focus on the inside first. And then once we get that going and get them in a good relationship, we start allowing them to progress into the next level.”

For Mullen, the Restoration of Hope project exemplifies what it means to be part of a community.

“We feel it is our responsibility to give back to the community that has given so much to us,” Mullen said. “Without the support we receive from the community, we would not be able to operate in the capacity that we do. When you have the capability to do good and help those in need, it almost becomes a duty to do so.”

For information about other projects Atlas has contributed to, visit the Project Profiles page on Asphalt Life.