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Matt's Place provides home equipped for ALS patient

The house was built and paid for entirely through donations. Not only is it ADA compliant, it is also a smart home built with the specialized needs of ALS patients in mind.

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho -- A Coeur d'Alene ALS patient named Matt Wild and his wife Theresa looked to Steve Gleason and his Team Gleason for a kind of road map to supporting people in the ALS community.

In just a matter of six months and with the help of 600 volunteers, Matt's Place Foundation was able to provide their first home to ALS patient Kathy Martin. One of the many perks of this home is they get to live here for free.

"The goal is, the families that are selected to live here through the application process, they get to use their additional funds to create memories. Not worry about the financial burden of ALS,” Theresa.

When Martin found out she was selected to live in a Matt's Place home, she could not believe it.

"I don't know what to think or what to say right now. It's just overwhelming. But it's wonderful," Martin said.

The house was built and paid for entirely through donations. Not only is it ADA compliant, it is also a smart home built with the specialized needs of ALS patients in mind.

"The ability to just use voice control to open the curtains, even the front door. I can't use my hands anymore so it's all nice. It's wonderful," Martin said.

Martin said she is grateful for the independence this technology will give her.

"Being able to do thing more normal. You lose a lot of ability quickly and to be able to just do the simple things, going from the bed to the shower. That's a big deal," she said.

The Wilds and the North Idaho Building Contractors Association welcomed Martin and her family to their new home Friday.

"It's amazing to see it all come together and know that we're helping people and helping make a family's life easier," Matt said.

For a final touch, all the names of the volunteers and companies that helped build Martin's new home are laid here on her beautiful back porch.

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