MACON, Ga. — The lives of Julius Grover and his family were turned upside down after his wife, Michele Williams Grover, passed away a few weeks ago.
"We had a tough time getting through that," Grover said.
Roughly two weeks later, the situation quickly became even worse.
On his way home from his first day of work since she died, Grover's house in Pleasant Hill caught on fire Monday and burned to the ground. No one was injured, but with all of this happening in such a short time period, it felt "unreal."
"My youngest son got into some things he shouldn't have been dealing with," Grover said. "We lost our house and basically everything we owned."
But then, all of a sudden, Grover says a "miracle worker" entered the picture. Meet June O'Neal.
"She showed up the same day it happened and just, [a] little unassuming woman," Grover said. "[She said] 'I see you're going through something. Don't worry about it. we've got this.'"
O'Neal, executive director of the Mentors Project, came to Grover on the same day as the fire. She helped get Grover and his family connected to resources but — most importantly for them — they got him placed in a new home.
"Everything. She was on it," Grover said. "It was a miracle."
The Mentors Project, which helps mentor students and support their families, had been collecting clothes, shoes and other belongings for the family after the fire.
With all this support, Grover said they were able to find a path forward during a time when things felt desperate. O'Neal got them connected with food, appliances, clothing and so much more.
"We get to start over — try to move forward after the turmoil and not have to move forward from zero, nothing at all," Grover said. "We've gotten everything replaced and just trying to make the family whole again."
During a time when many people are afraid of asking for help, Grover said that O'Neal's actions represent something special.
"I'm not an ask-for-help type of person. I didn't ask for this but, if you know Ms. O'Neal, she wasn't going to wait for someone to ask for her," Grover said. "She said 'This is what needs to be done, and it's going to happen.'"
The new home is not going to bring their family member back, but Grover said that having a new home gives them the opportunity to heal in peace.
"You can never fill the hole that is created by the loss of a loved one. But for them to have the security of a house.... not having to worry about that so you can deal with the emotions of losing a family member — it is a miracle," Grover said.