Repair Corp and The Home Depot Foundation Fund Home Repairs for Veterans
Generous, thoughtful, and caring. Those are three words to describe Gene and Patricia (Pat). They are local Midland homeowners who found themselves needing a bit of help. Pat was at a loss of where to turn to for help with needed home repairs, so she turned to google. “I just started googling home repair help in Midland and reached out to every organization listed”. That is how she stumbled upon the Midland County Habitat for Humanity (MCHFH) home repair program. MCHFH uses grants to fund critical home repairs to help low to moderate income homeowners restore and maintain their homes. MCHFH will partner with homeowners to alleviate critical health and safety issues and complete needed home repair projects.
Pat completed the online form to request a repair and waited to hear back. The home had a chimney that was quite simply, a safety hazard. Pat and Gene didn’t realize what a hazard it was until a tree fell on their roof. They called a tree removal service to remove the tree, and the employees that went on the roof notified them of the issue. The chimney was literally falling apart. The chimney framework also comes down into the kitchen and often there is dust and debris from the interior of the chimney leaking out, but they didn’t realize the exterior of the chimney was in that bad of condition. They also had to repair their bathroom floor. The floor was tile and it had met it’s life expectancy and needed to be replaced. Pat almost fell on the loose tile in the bathroom and realized it was time to do something about it. Their home also had a leaky basement and they were dealing with dampness and standing water. Trying to prioritize expenses and save for repairs felt like a long and losing battle, which led them to reach out for help.
Gene and Pat are no strangers to hard work. They both are entrepreneurs and Gene served in the armed forces. He was drafted to the Army and served in the Vietnam War spending most of his enlistment in Okinawa from 1969 – 1972. Gene spent his enlistment in specialty radio communications and was assigned to a radio site. When asked what that experience was like, Gene said “it was a sub tropic location 9 months of the year and then 3 months worth of typhoons. There were several typhoons while I was stationed there. It is a different world over there.” Accustom to hard work, and doing things on their own, reaching out for help was difficult. “I just didn’t know what to do, how we could catch up on all the repairs and realized we needed help” said Pat. When they were contacted by Katty Owens, The MCHFH Homeowner Services Manager, about their application; they were thrilled. A few days prior to Katty calling, their hot water heater quit working, adding another repair to the growing list. “Cold showers are not fun” said Gene.
Katty notified Gene and Pat that they qualified for a Repair Corps grant. Since 2011, The Home Depot Foundation has generously funded critical repairs on the homes of veterans through Habitat for Humanity’s Repair Corps program. The program is open to all military veterans, provided they have received an honorable or general discharge, and is not restricted to any specific veteran groups. The grant focuses on critical home repairs including interior or exterior work performed to alleviate critical health, life and safety issues or code violations, including a change to or repair of materials or components; a reconfiguration of space; a modification for accessibility; installation or extension of plumbing, mechanical or electrical systems on an existing structure. To date, Repair Corps has served veterans from all service branches and has served veterans as far back as World War II.
Through the Repair Corp grant MCHFH was able to rebuild Pat and Gene’s chimney. Miller Custom Tile rebuilt the chimney and sealed the leaking portions inside the kitchen. “Its such a relief to know the kitchen will stay clean and I don’t have to deal with all the dust from the chimney” said Pat. Rose Construction was hired to repair the bathroom floor. “I appreciate being able to thoroughly clean the bathroom. You like to know the room is clean and before I couldn’t do much with the floor. It is such a relief to have the floor repaired and replaced and to know it is clean!” said Pat. For the basement, Foundation Solutions 360 was used to stop the water leakage. “Being able to go to the basement to do laundry and feel confident that I won’t step in water is wonderful. Not having to walk around water is such a relief.” said Pat. And for the pesky hot water heater that died shortly before MCHFH called, Reliable Heating and Cooling was hired to replace it. “Hot water is much appreciated. I didn’t like cold showers in the service and I don’t like them now” joked Gene.
“The house is just so much more peaceful. All of the contractors were so professional and wonderful. I encourage anyone that needs home repairs and isn’t sure how they will get them done to reach out to Midland County Habitat for Humanity. I strongly encourage you to take the first steps and see if it is available to you. We share all the time with people how wonderful Habitat is and how wonderful this whole experience has been” explained Pat. Gene echoed those sentiments. “My house is where I have my things, it is a place for Gene and I to build a life together. We have opened our home to friends in the past who needed some help and now with these repairs we can extend that offer again. A home is people. It is sharing. It is family, even if they aren’t related to us. This process with Habitat has been such a relief and we recommend.”
The Repair Corp grant covered the majority of the repair costs for Pat and Gene, and MCHFH offered a 0% interest loan for the portion not covered. “Our goal is to help homeowners maintain their homes. Habitat strongly believes in extending a hand up, not a hand out, and likes to partner with people that own their homes, and have a willingness to partner with us. Making critical home repairs to homes and helping people age in place, maintain their community, and their home is our goal” said Jennifer Chappel, CEO and President of Midland County Habitat for Humanity.
If interested in learning more about the Repair Corp program or the Home Repair and Preservation Program contact Katty Owens, Homeowner Services Manager, 989-496-0900 ext 22 or katty@midlandhabitat.org or visit midlandhabitat.org.