Painter donates two weeks of his time to help flood-impacted homeowners

By Adair Winder

Feb 13, 2023

Inspiring: Painter Bernie Wells donated two weeks of his time to put a fresh coat of paint on a home impacted by the floods in Rochester. Photo by Steve Huntley

Not all heroes wear capes. Some, like Bernie Wells, wear hi-vis workwear.

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Mr Wells is certainly a hero in the eyes of one Rochester family.

He has driven four hours to Rochester, from Drouin, to donate two-weeks of his time to paint a flood-impacted house in Queen St.

A painter by trade, Mr Wells knew that he could use his skills to help people needing to restore their homes.

“I’d watched a lot of what happened with the fires a few years ago and saw that in a lot of cases there was nobody there to help these people with their homes,” Mr Wells said.

“I mean, there are still people living in their sheds after that.

“And so when the floods came through here, I knew that I could help get people back on their feet and back into their homes.”

And so, that was what he did.

When the floods subsided, Mr Wells spoke to a representative from Wattyl paints to share his ideas and they then put him in touch with Wattyl territory manager Eve Beacroft.

As soon as she heard from Bernie, Ms Beacroft said she knew instantly that Wattyl had to be involved.

She organised the donation of tins of Wattyl Solagard paint and painting equipment to help Bernie with the project.

She then got in touch with Crowies Paints, which also donated paint and equipment.

“This is a special project and it needed to happen,” Ms Beacroft said.

“This is everyone working together to help out. And it all started with Bernie.”

Teamwork makes the dream work: Eva Beacroft and Joel Trisk. Photo by Steve Huntley

An act of kindness: Bernie Wells and Ian Armer next to some of the donated products. Photo by Steve Huntley

Re-building: Joel Trist and Bernie Wells working together on the front of the house. Photo by Steve Huntley

Mr Wells heard about Joel Trist and his family through word of mouth.

He had heard they had been renovating when their home was inundated with water and he reached out to lend a hand.

A family of seven, the Trists were devastated when they had to evacuate the house they had been upgrading for so long, with no idea of what they would return to.

“It was heartbreaking,” Mr Trist said.

“We had worked so hard to get the house to the point to where it was and then it flooded.”

Mr Trist said they were blown away by Mr Well’s generosity.

“The house had no insurance, so any help we could get made a massive difference,” he said.