NeighborWorks taking free home repair applications
WOONSOCKET – Applications are now open for the free home repair program run through NeighborWorks Blackstone Valley in partnership with the Christian organization Group Cares.
Homeowners who are seniors (age 62 and up), veterans, disabled or lower-income are eligible for free exterior and interior painting, wheelchair ramp construction, porch and step repair or replacement and landscaping work.
The work is completed by teenage volunteers and their supervisors from all over the country, who stay for a week in the city, sleeping at Hamlet Middle School at night and breaking into teams for repair work during the day. The Colorado-based Christian nonprofit Group Cares coordinates the mission trips at more than a dozen sites nationwide.
Meghan Rego, director of resource development and communications, said NeighborWorks usually collects about twice as many applications as the targeted number of projects, since not all projects fit into the scope or expertise the volunteer groups can accommodate.
About 20 applicants who applied last year but did not participate in the program will be rolled over and prioritized this year as long as they still want to participate and their project meets the requirements, Rego said.
A “site-writer” from Group Cares visits each applicant’s home to assess the work that needs to be done and write a description. Rego said the organization uses an algorithm to translate that description into an estimate of how many volunteers and hours the project will require. Applicants who applied last year and were rolled over this year will be reevaluated by a site-writer, she said.
The work itself will take place for one week starting July 15. Applicants must be able to provide a bath
room for the volunteers and be present during the week the volunteers complete the work.
The program has grown in Woonsocket since the first year in 2016. Rego said last year about 115 volunteers came to Woonsocket to participate, and though this year’s number won’t be finalized for another couple months, it’s on track to be closer to 150.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and capped once 40-60 have been received. The application is available on the NeighborWorks website in English and Spanish or on paper at the NeighborWorks office at 719 Front Street, suite 103.