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10 Things Your Faith Community Can Do To Encourage Homeownership
9. Help Your Neighbor by Going the "Extra Mile"
Many homes fall into disrepair for a variety of reasons. The elderly
in particular may be in need of physical assistance to do regular
home maintenance such as painting, plumbing, yard maintenance, etc.
These needs present FBOs with opportunities to assist the Homeowner
and beautify the community. Furthermore, those individuals and families
new to homeownership often need assistance in developing the knowledge
and skills required to keep their homes in good repair since there
is no longer a landlord to call on when problems arise. Here are
some ideas.
- Partner with local skilled trade training programs to get
their instructors and students to help with home maintenance
training
- Create a home repair ministry by recruiting skilled trade's
people from congregations and other organizations.
- Consider setting up a home repair "business"-people pay a
small fee and have access to congregants, retirees and/or partners
who will do or help them do minor repairs and landscaping as
well as provide advice about common home maintenance tasks.
- Work with contractors or construction companies and suppliers
to acquire common home repair tools and supplies. Homeowners
who have gone through a home maintenance-training program have
the opportunity to "borrow" the tools or buy deeply discounted
supplies from your program.
- Partner with retailers who do in-store training and demonstrations
on routine home maintenance and tool skills.
- Create a home repair event day or weekend. Volunteers converge
on a specific area or home and do home repairs and landscaping
to transform a home or a whole block in one day. Often, contractors
will offer skilled workers to act as supervisors for untrained
volunteers.
- Create a low or no-interest minor home repair revolving loan
fund. Owners can borrow small amounts from the fund to help
them make code compliance, emergency or other repairs. Community
Development Block Grant programs of local governments already
have programs for this activity. Many local community development
corporations provide this service as well.
Many of the organizations that provide homeownership training also
include information and training on home maintenance for participants.
Look at these web sites for more ideas: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/Nonprofit/ and http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Housing/.
The National
Home Builders Association web site at can help you learn more
about opportunities with homebuilders and associations in your area.
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