Needed: Short-term shelter for those made homeless by Helene | Opinion

My name is Ray Allegrezza, and I have had the pleasure of reporting on this industry for more than 30 years.

In that time, I’ve determined that the home furnishings sector is populated by some of the most caring, generous people I’ve met anywhere.

With that in mind, I want to throw an idea on the table. But before I do, I want to acknowledge that the idea is not mine. Credit for what follows must be given to a good friend and mentor, Jim McIngvale, also known as Mattress Mack, owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston.

Mack routinely makes headlines for his often-outrageous sports-related promotions. As an example, during the Super Bowl, March Madness, the World Series and other high-profile sporting events, Mack will place a giant bet on one team — usually a Texas club or one closest geographically to his home state — and offer customers a full refund if they win.

But in my mind, Mack has always made a ‘heartline,” at least with me, by his incredible generosity to people in his area who find themselves without heat, water or homes due to floods, hurricanes, ice storms and the like. Mack has turned his stores and warehouses into temporary shelters for those in desperate need.

Last week, Hurricane Helene decimated large portions of the Southeast, with areas of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia.

Clearly, we have the products, means and desire to help these areas and these people rebuild.

But right now, their homes are gone. Not merely damaged but destroyed.

Right now, they need a place to sleep. If Mack had stores and distribution centers in any of the affected areas, I know what he would have already done.

And so do you.

So, I am asking anyone and everyone that has a store, a warehouse or a distribution center close enough to those now homeless from the storm: Can we come together as an industry and launch a “Mack Attack” to provide short-term shelter to those who have nowhere to sleep tonight?

Later, we can come up with a strategy to help them rebuild and refurnish.

But for right now, can we please put our heads and hearts together and let them know that when night comes, they will have a place to sleep?

Can we please take a page from Mattress Mack’s book and help our fellow Americans who have lost everything?

Ray Allegrezza, events and content manager for the International Home Furnishings Representatives Assn.

See also:

• • Picking up the pieces: N.C. home décor retailer recovers after Helene devastates community
  • Hooker Furnishings lines up relief efforts from High Point and Martinsville offices
  • Hope and a helping hand: How the industry is stepping up in the wake of Hurricane Helene