Nonprofit seeks to keep Second Ward residents in homes
During last year’s stay-at-home order, some residents were stuck in houses with faulty wiring, rotting floors, leaking roofs and mold from the region’s regular flooding.
Government relief measures, including eviction moratorium, rental assistance and mortgage forbearance, didn’t help people such as Maria Garza, who owns her home but doesn’t have the means to make costly repairs.
On Saturday, volunteers from ExxonMobil partnered with the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Houston to put the finishing touches on Garza’s newly restored Second Ward home.
Contractors made electrical repairs, replaced broken window frames and stabilized the foundation while volunteers painted the exterior and landscaped the yard.
Garza’s home is one of at least 100 homes that Rebuilding Together Houston committed to repairing in the historic Second Ward.
Many homes in Second Ward, a predominantly Hispanic community in the East End, are nearly a century old. One of Houston’s oldest neighborhoods, the community was a hub for immigrants — first Germans, then Russian Jews. In the 1920s it became the center of Mexican-American home ownership in the city.
Garza’s 1930s single-story bungalow with a porch and a fenced-in yard exemplifies the neighborhood’s style. The houses sit close together and the neighbors know each other.
“Whenever someone new moves in I go introduce myself,” Garza said in Spanish. “We check in on each other.”
The house across from Garza’s has sat vacant since the owner became too sick to care for it earlier this year. The house on the opposite corner is also empty, left to the family after the owner died.
She has new neighbors, too, but they don’t speak Spanish, and Garza doesn’t speak much English.
Relatively low prices and availability have attracted young middle and upper class workers to purchase homes in Second Ward. Tall, boxy condos occasionally stand out along streets of single
story homes.
“Repairs help to keep the character of the neighborhood and to make the people who live here safe and comfortable as opposed to the homes being taken over,” Leonard DiFranza, a senior volunteer coordinator with Rebuilding Together Houston, said.
These repairs offer families a choice, said Christine Holland, chief executive officer of Rebuilding Together Houston.
Homeowners can choose to stay in their home rather than selling to a developer when repairs are too costly. Maintaining the home ensures that investment can be passed down through the family.
“Research shows how hard it is for low income people of color to achieve home ownership,” Holland said. “And if someone has to sell to a developer, even though it’s more money than they’ve ever seen, they’re not going to go out and buy a new house and they’re not going to have that asset.”
Rebuilding Together Houston only has the resources to accept about 15 percent of the applications they receive. Between volunteer work and donations, the organization serves 300 to 500 families a year.
Founded in 1982, Rebuilding Together Houston’s goal is to add 10 to 20 years years to the life of a home through repairs done by contractors and volunteers.
The nonprofit relies on corporate partners like ExxonMobil, which has been a partner since the organization’s founding.
Rebuilding Together Houston crews will work on 24 houses this fall, most located in Second Ward.
The group is still accepting applications from low-income homeowners who need help making critical repairs and accessibility modifications like wheelchair ramps.