Councilwomen Robertson and Trammell invite community to see free home repairs being performed by Rebuilding Together of Richmond in Richmond’s Bellemeade and Oak Grove neighborhoods
2010 Richmond Rebuilding Day: One day home repair blitz to commence in Richmond’s Southside and Gateway Districts
WHAT Richmond City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, Gateway 6th District, and Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, Southside 8th District, invite the community to come out to witness 2010 Richmond Rebuilding Day, a one day home repair blitz produced by local nonprofit organization, Rebuilding Together of Richmond. During this event, Rebuilding Together of Richmond will coordinate a large-scale delivery of free home repairs for needful residents in Richmond’s Bellemeade and Oak Grove neighborhoods.
Rebuilding Together of Richmond programs, services and products are sponsored, paid for and underwritten primarily by Richmond-based businesses and community partners. Homes to be repaired were chosen from applications for assistance that were submitted to Rebuilding Together of Richmond in November of 2009. Typical repairs and renovations include painting, heating/cooling, roof, windows, handrails, porch repairs, improved lighting and removal of trip and fall hazards.
Criteria for assistance include: homeowners who are 55 years of age or older or have disabilities; have a household income less than $25,000; living in a property in a selected project area (assessed annually).
Councilwomen Robertson and Trammell believe that, as a measure of the wellbeing and success of our thriving community, all citizens need to have a safe and affordable place to live and that a stable living environment helps to prepare citizens for continued personal and live-long achievement and success.
WHEN Saturday, 24 April 2010
8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
WHERE Central Command Post located at: Richmond Public Schools - Oak Grove Elementary School; 2200 Ingram Avenue
WHO The Honorable Ellen F. Robertson, Councilwoman, Richmond City
Council, Gateway 6th District
The Honorable Reva M. Trammell, Councilwoman, Richmond City Council, Southside 8th District
CONTACT For more information, please contact Amy King, Director, Rebuilding Together of Richmond, at: 804.513.8628 (mobile); or via email, at: rebuildingtogether-richmond@comcast.net
BACKGROUND ___________________________________________________________________
Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing critical home repair and modification services to those in need at no cost to homeowners. With the help of everyday citizen volunteers, skilled trades people, the support of local business and major corporate partners, Rebuilding Together affiliates in America’s largest cities and smallest towns make life considerably better for thousands of low-income homeowners. In addition to its core home repair work, Rebuilding Together also rehabilitates community centers and conducts home modification and repair programs that focus on aging in place. Rebuilding Together has programs dedicated to energy efficiency, veteran’s housing, and disaster recovery and reconstruction. For more information, please visit the Rebuilding Together website, at www.RebuildingTogether.org
2010 Richmond Rebuilding Day: Bellemeade and Oak Grove Neighborhoods
These Richmond Neighborhoods includes a diverse mix of home styles such as one and two-story frame bungalows and brick Cape Cods. Most of the homes were built in the 1940’s and 1950’s.
The aged housing stock in these neighborhoods represents significant maintenance challenges. The elderly, low-income segment of the population faces the issues of limited means and ability to replace costly roofs, furnaces, windows, doors and appliances. For example: Ms. J, a homeowner on Willis Street, is unable to afford to run her electric baseboard heating due to the complete lack of insulation in her home. Average electric bills for her 1000 sq ft home hit $400 a month in the coldest part of the year. This expense represents half of her monthly income.
Rebuilding Together of Richmond 2010 Facts
• Forty-three homes served in Richmond’s Bellemeade and Oak Grove Neighborhoods as well as the Richmond Public Schools Oak Grove Elementary School, Headquarters building.
• All homes are owned and occupied by low-income elderly or disabled residents of the City of Richmond.
• More than 1500 volunteers participate in Rebuilding Together of Richmond each year.
• The services and products delivered by Rebuilding Together of Richmond are paid for, sponsored and underwritten primarily by Richmond-based businesses and community partners.
• The Richmond Rebuilding Together organization began in April 1993 with repairs to 23 homes in the Blackwell community. At the close of its seventeenth year, the organization has rehabilitated 788 homes and helped to revitalize 15 communities in the Richmond area.
• Improvements made to homes have included:
o Reattaching gutters and downspouts
o Adding handrails to the front and back stoops
o Weatherizing doors and windows
o Roof replacement
o Insulating
o Furnace, hot water tank and other appliance repair and replacement
o Electrical service upgrades
o Bath fixtures replacement
o Repair to floors rotted by wet conditions
o Addition of security doors, deadbolts and peepholes.
• The Home Modifications component of this organization includes assessment of the homeowner by an occupational therapist followed by recommendations of products and modifications to be included in the rehab effort, such as:
o Supplying durable medical equipment – tub benches, toilet railings, grab bars
o Resolving safety issues – large numbers on telephones, CO2 and smoke detectors
o Elimination of trip and fall hazards
o Improving independence in the home
o Eliminating access issues by correcting threshold problems or adding ADA ramps.
