Milburn, OK -- A Johnston County community came together in support of one of its own on Sunday. Louie Jones has faced challenges all of his life, but now his community is lending a hand.

Milburn is a small community just outside of Tishomingo, but after hearing Jones' story, the community showed just how big of a heart small town America can have.

"Yeah, he misses his house a lot yes, yes," Jones said through sign language interpreter, Ashleigh Regal.

Jones is a long time Johnston County resident, is 45 years old, is deaf and unable to speak, and suffers from diabetes. He grew up in the rural parts of the county and lived with his grandmother until she passed away.

Then in November, tragedy struck.

Jones was living in a house on the land where he grew up when a fire destroyed his home and his beloved family photos. All that remains are charred ashes. Now, he is living in a small camper.

Sunday afternoon, the community along with the Milburn Fire Dept. joined together to raise money to try to give him a new home. A chilli and cornbread lunch along with an auction selling homemade baked goods, some for as much as $60 a piece, raised more than $8,000 for Jones.

"Whenever someone is hurting it's always great to see people reaching out in times of need, because all of us will be in a time of need ourselves," said one of the supporters, Kenneth Hanson.

Since the fire, Jones' only source of water was a dirty unreliable well. One of his supporters, Pat Stinson said improving his water situation was one of the rally's goals.

"He doesn't have running water. He has an outdoor toilet. He doesn't have sewer facilities, and so ultimately we would like to raise enough money to get him conncted to rural water and maybe setup a sewer system for him as well," Stinson said.

Jones says he doesn't want to leave his land, because it's been in his family for several generations. Although the past few months have been difficult, he says he is very glad to know that so many people are behind him.

"He says he likes it here because of his friends," said Jones' interpreter.

If you would like to help Jones, an account has been set up in his name at all Landmark Bank locations in Southern Oklahoma.