Welcome to Rebuilding Together Dutchess County
RTDC to Help 10 Homeowners During National Rebuilding Month In April
Poughkeepsie, NY – Rebuilding Together Dutchess County, a nonprofit with a vision of a safe and healthy home for every person announced today that April 2014 marks its 23rd annual National Rebuilding Month. National Rebuilding Month is the organization’s nationwide call to provide safe and healthy homes for America’s low-income homeowners and families across the country during the month of April, punctuated with the annual National Rebuilding Day on April 26, a culmination of months of planning.
Last year across the country, more than 50,000 volunteers served at over 3,000 affiliate-led rebuild projects during the month of April. Rebuilding Together Dutchess County will complete 10 projects during National Rebuilding Month 2014, bringing together 300 volunteers to serve low-income homeowners and communities in need including a single mother who lives in her 1930’s home with her 11 year old daughter, an elderly woman who has lived in her 1960’s home for almost 50 years, and a 75 year old woman who is the widow of a Korean War veteran. Renovations will include roofing, drywall, gutter, flooring, plumbing & electrical repairs, installation of smoke detectors, installation of windows & doors, grab bars & handrails, and accessible bathrooms.
National Rebuilding Month is embraced by community leaders and national corporate partners as a way of bringing immediate, large-scale impact to communities across America in a single month. Local partners include volunteer teams from Arlington Teachers Association, Central Hudson, Hyde Park United Methodist Church, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Meyer Contracting Corp., Poughkeepsie South Rotary, Poughquag United Methodist Church, Salisbury Bank, SERVPRO of NW & SE DC, TD Bank, and Walden Savings Bank.
For the past 23 years Rebuilding Together Dutchess County has brought volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of the growing population of low-income homeowners in need, completing over 430 critical home repair projects.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are 5.2 million homeowners who live in deteriorating, physically inadequate homes that threaten their wellbeing. Therefore, the demand for Rebuilding Together’s services continues to grow as limited income homeowners, faced with diminishing resources, must choose food and medicine over critical home repairs, choices that, over time, lead to crumbling foundations, dangerously sagging roofs, and windows and doors that can’t be secured for their own safety.
“The affordable housing squeeze that many experience also impacts longtime homeowners, who struggle to maintain their homes and can’t afford to move but have difficulty affording to stay as well” said Executive Director Christina Boryk. “Helping these homeowners remain in their homes is important to strengthening our community and preserving affordable housing.”
An 82 year old widow of a WWII and Korean War veteran has lived in her home for 52 years and recently had to replace her furnace which she is still paying off. Because of this, her 20 year old roof needed to be replaced but she simply could not afford it. Prior to Fall Rebuilding Day, a team replaced her leaky roof. On Fall Rebuilding Day, a team repaired the tripping hazard in her walkway, weatherstripped her doors and windows to cut down on her energy bills, converted the knobs on her doors to levers for easier access, and replaced and painted the fascia. Another team will also be donating and installing new gutters to prevent further leaks and water issues.
A family of 5, with a disabled mother and a recently unemployed father needed help with the upkeep of their home. Their basement was inaccessible, so an RTDC team on Fall Rebuilding Day built stairs and handrails to increase access. Additionally they repaired the sagging front porch, replaced a sliding glass door and painted trim. They also resolved the drainage/moisutre issues at the chimney and downspouts and repaired interior water damage.
led Marine Corps veteran who served our country during the Vietnam War is so active in his local American Legion, helping other veterans in the community, he never looked for assistance for himself. Luckily, RTDC was able to help serve someone who has kept our country safe. RTDC replaced windows in his home to make it less drafty and more energy efficient. New flooring was installed to reduce tripping hazards and make the home safer.
A disabled single father of a teenage daughter could not physically perform the repairs necessary to keep his home safe for his family. Drafty and damp, the home needed new windows and many other repairs. Volunteers during National Rebuilding Day replaced all of his windows to make them energy efficient, replaced his front and storm doors, repaired unsafe handrails, replaced faulty light fixtures, and repointed the chimney among other repairs. "It's unbelievable! I'm just blown away looking at my new windows! It's like a dream come true, I can't stop looking at them."
A single mother with two disabled adult children, this Poughkeepsie homeowner could not afford to make her home safer and more independent for her children to live in. "If I didn't have this help, I wouldn't be able to do this on my own. It looks like a brand new house!" she said about the repairs completed on National Rebuilding Day. Volunteers replaced windows, painted the exterior of the home, and made the bathroom more accessible for her children. These repairs will create a significantly more independent and safe home for the entire family for years to come.
This Wappingers Falls homeowner certainly did not have the ability or money to repair his home as necessary. Luckily, volunteers were able to perform major plumbing repairs, repair a leaky roof, install safer handrails, and drastically improve the lighting in the home so that he could be much safer. Without these repairs, this homeowner was not living in a safe and independent environment, and with the help of the volunteers on National Rebuilding Day he can now live safely for years to come. "I don't know what I would have done if I didn't get this help. All these people are like angels from heaven."
An elderly Navy veteran and his disabled wife simply could not stay in their home any longer without long overdue repairs. Much of the home was rotten or falling apart and was a very unsafe living environment. During National Rebuilding Day, volunteers were able to tear off and replace the roof, replace much of the rotten lumber and framing, replace broken light fixtures, repair broken windows, fix a sagging bathroom ceiling, and add grab bars and hand rails (to just name a few of the repairs they completed). The home is once more warm, safe, and dry for the elderly homeowners. "It is an amazing project and we are very grateful to be chosen and to have these top notch people helping out," said the homeowner.
This Hyde Park widow of a veteran was concerned about the state of her home at her advanced age. A leaky roof, rotten fascia, broken gutters, and faulty electrical issues were some of the concerns facing her on a daily basis. With the help of her volunteer team over National Rebuilding Day she was able to receive a brand new roof, new gutters, new electric work, new fascia boards, a replaced window pane, and all new interior painting. "I still can't believe that this is happening. I still can't believe it's real!"
