West End homes rehabbed by CDC, local churches
Sixty students, 20-plus supervisors and a group of skilled workers with a single mission tackled a dozen home remediation projects in the West End neighborhood of Washington this summer, providing free repair services to low-income homeowners.
About $40,000 was used for rehabilitation, ranging from weatherization to roof replacement, in the collaboration between Citywide Development Corp. and local churches.
“Our work revolved around two things – helping with homes and building relationships with people in our community,” said coordinator Aaron Miller, Life Church director of student ministries.
Using about $10,000 from donations collected at the churches and $30,000 from the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, CDC executive director Christy Bean Rowing and Miller identified projects they felt could be done with their available funds and labor.
In May, about 60 homeowners applied for the CDC funds, which were to be used to bring structures up to code, improve energy efficiency or to help keep seniors in their homes through such projects as installation of assistive devices.
Skilled workers will start labor on two homes in need of more substantial repairs Tuesday.
“We inspected about 30 homes to see if we could do the work, and from those, we selected those we thought we could tackle. We would have loved to do them all,” said Rowing. “We chose some with generational needs. In one house, a grandmother is helping support her kids and her grandkids. The home is the hearth of that family. It felt like a good place to put significant funds, for not just one person, but generations after. Another is an elderly couple. They did their very best to do updates, but couldn’t because of health issues. They live near their family, and we wanted to help them stay with their family in a safe environment.”
Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh provides home repair services to low-income homeowners, many of whom are seniors, veterans or people with disabilities.
Having volunteered with Highland Ridge Community Development Corp’s “Mending Fences” beautification program, Miller’s group has witnessed support from the community for their neighbors in need. He said businesses and organizations consistently provide funds and materials for their projects.
“There’s always a sense of deep gratitude from the homeowners. Oftentimes there are tears, hugs and a sense of, ‘I can’t believe you’re just doing this for free,’ and a followup of, ‘We want to help whoever you help next,'” said Miller. “This year, we put on gutters and downspouts to help a family get rid of water in their basement. They were so thankful, they made a donation to the next project. We just want it to be a gift, but when neighbors help neighbors, that’s the point.”
Students from Life Church, Church of the Covenant, Friendship Community Church, Washington Alliance and the Bible Chapel spent the third week of June tackling projects, including the West End playground, where they repaired the pavilion, added benches and re-mulched play areas.
“We just know that playgrounds are places where children have memories,” Miller said. “We’ve put in lights to try to create deterrents for unsavory activity in the area. We want to create a safe place for children.”
Miller is planning a fall basketball tournament to raise funds for improvements to other Washington playgrounds.
“The youth groups want to teach our teenagers what it looks like to be a part of a community and give back,” he said. “We’re trying to create a space for students to serve their community and help some incredible people.”