annual_report

2016
IMPACT
REPORT
July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016

TRANSITIONS AT HOME
Dear Friend,
It has been an exciting year at Home Repair
Services (HRS). For the first time since the
final days of the Carter Administration,
the agency experienced a transition in
executive leadership. On January 1, 1980,
a young Dave Jacobs took the reins of a
then young Home Repair Services and on
November 9, 2015, I was welcomed in as
Dave’s successor.
In his 34 years here, Dave built a strong,
client-centered organization that has never
veered from its missional lane of supporting
and equipping lower-income homeowners
for success. This, along with core
characteristics of compassion, stewardship,
dignity and collaboration, is what
distinguishes HRS and helps define the
work we do and how we do it. This will
not change.
I want to personally express to you my
gratitude for your support of this important
mission. This past year, you helped
vulnerable, lower-income homeowners
throughout Kent County gain access to
critically needed emergency repairs, regain
their independence through an access ramp
and more safely age in their own homes with
a bathroom modification. You helped people
build their repair and remodeling skills to a
level where they could fix and improve their
own homes. You empowered homeowners
through financial coaching and helped spare
homeowners from the spiral of losing a home
to foreclosure. Your support helped make
possible 24 gleaming, new do-it-yourself
kitchens and enabled us to complete 145
Home Maintenance Check-up inspections.
You even improved food security in Kent
County through our partnership in the
innovative Community Food Club of
Greater Grand Rapids.

Together, we have built up homes, and
together, we have built up the people that
live in them. What a great combination—
thanks for making it possible!
There remains plenty for us to do. As our
community confronts an affordable housing
crisis, the work of HRS is as important as
ever. As forgotten neighborhoods get
rediscovered, we hope that our equipping
work positions lower-income homeowners
to be able to stay in place—to welcome
newcomers to the neighborhood they
helped anchor for years—not to leave it.
Their presence—the diversity they bring—
is a very important ingredient for a stronger,
more vibrant and just Kent County.
So it is truly my privilege to invite you to
read the following pages and learn more
about the impact that HRS had this past year.
Your continued interest, collaboration and
financial support – your partnership – has
been so important over the years and it is so
appreciated. We hope that you will continue
to stay with us and if you are new to HRS, we
welcome you to the family.
Joel Ruiter | Executive Director
ONE OF THE BEST GIFTS
THAT DAVE JACOBS LEFT
BEHIND WAS THE HRS
STAFF PICTURED ABOVE.
THEY ARE THE “SECRET
SAUCE” THAT MAKES HRS
SO SPECIAL. PASSIONATE,
PURPOSEFUL, DEDICATED
AND DETERMINED — I
SALUTE THEM!

STRONGER
HOMES

MAJOR & MINOR REPAIR PROGRAMS
1685
76
244
26
health & safety jobs completed
new furnaces installed
roof repairs
new roofs installed
ACCESS RAMPS
33
17
BATHROOM MODIFICATIONS
55
85
home access ramps constructed
donated by HBA members
bathrooms modified
new toilets installed
OUR CLIENTS
Race
Asian 1%
Black 39%
Hispanic/Other/Multiple Race 13%
Native American 1%
White 46%
Female – headed household 72%
Clients aged 60 or greater 65%
Average length in current home 9 years
Average Income $20,207

2016 Resourceful Homeowner Award recipient,
Rosemary Weber
STRONGER
HOMEOWNERS

FINANCIAL COACHING
387
79
33
coaching sessions
mortgage foreclosures averted
property tax foreclosures averted
THE FIX-IT SCHOOL
60
580
6
HOME MAINTENANCE CHECK-UPS
145 inspections completed
80 inspections completed for seniors
90% inspections where a critical health
& safety repair was identified
REMODELING TOGETHER
24
11
120
total hands-on training classes held
total students attended
women-only classes held
new kitchen & bath projects completed
families assisted by a remodeling coach
projects completed since program
inception in 2011
HOME REPAIR SERVICES
SEEKS TO INVEST IN
PEOPLE BY EQUIPPING
THEM WITH THE TOOLS
FOR SUCCESS.

STORIES FROM HOME:
BUILDING STRONG HOMES
When Darla Rector’s husband Glenn slipped
and fell in the shower, knocking the spout
off the shower wall, her first two phone calls
were to local plumbing contractors. After two
estimates for repair came in at $700 or more
and with limited resources, she began to fear
what would have to take place to restore the
full use of their bath. Desperate for a more
viable option, she reached out to the Area
Agency on Aging, who connected her to
Home Repair Services.
Darla registered for our repair program and
placed a work order to have the spout fixed.
When HRS Plumbing Supervisor, Jim Lynch, got
to their home to assess the repairs, he saw an
opportunity for much more than a quick spout
repair — he saw an opportunity to completely
modify their bathroom to help the Rectors
continue to live safely with ease in their own
home at a much more affordable price.
“It felt like Christmas,” Darla shared. “This day
and age, you don’t always get people doing
that for you. It’s just wonderful to have a place
that cares for seniors and the disabled.”
After consulting with our partner Disability
Advocates and reviewing the costs with Darla,
Jim and our repair team got to work. They not
only repaired the damaged spout but they
replaced the high step-over bathtub with a
low-threshold walk-in shower, installed an
elevated toilet, and completed some needed
repairs to the bathroom sink. Through our
partnership with the Kent County Senior Millage,
the total cost of the Rector’s co-payment
for the entire bath modification ended up
being less than the original plumber estimates
to fix the broken spout. Darla was overjoyed!
Darla and Glenn have been enjoying the new,
safer configuration for several months now
and she continues to praise the great work
and relationship she developed with our
repair team members. “It’s a wonderful organization
to tell people about. Home Repair
Services is well needed in the community.”

STORIES FROM HOME:
BUILDING STRONG HOMEOWNERS
In addition to its well-maintained appearance
and inviting front porch, when you approach
the home of Lynn and Eunice Griffin, you will
immediately notice the prominent position
given to the American flag.
“Installing the flag on the front of the porch
was the very first home-improvement project
that I did after buying the home,” Lynn shared
proudly. It makes sense when you know that
Lynn served in the military for over 30 years.
He retired from the Army in 2006 with the
rank of sergeant.
As a first-time homeowner, Lynn was eager
for some education. He heard about the free
hands-on classes offered at Home Repair
Services and quickly became a Saturday
regular at the Fix-It School. He has taken
every class that we offer—some of them
twice. “I figured that if my name was on the
deed, I should know how to keep it up, to
make some repairs myself.”
On his many visits to HRS, he learned
of the Remodeling Together Program.
Bolstered by his burgeoning skills and
growing confidence, he signed up with BJ
Jordan, Self-Help Program Manager, to take
on a do-it-yourself kitchen remodel. BJ met
with Lynn and Eunice in their home, listened
to their dreams and, together, they came up
with a new design. Cabinets were ordered,
demolition was completed and with the
expert help of HRS coach Steve Sielaff,
the Griffins’ new kitchen came together
beautifully over a period of 10 weeks.
It came together so well, in fact, that it was
judged as one of the four finalists for the 2016
Resourceful Homeowner Award back in March.
With the kitchen complete, Lynn has moved
on to a number of other improvements around
the house. He has also become quite popular
with his friends and neighbors, helping
them discover what is possible with the right
training, the right tools and the right attitude.
In reflecting on tools—especially his fondness
for power tools—Lynn flashed his million-dollar
smile and said, “If you have the right tool
for the right job, it makes your life a snap!”
Photos courtesy of KriZma Photo

THE IMPACT OF RESOURCES
17%
3%
2%
8%
7%
10%
417
31%
18%
41% 2015
USES
18%
32% 9% 4%
2015
SOURCES
$2,558,693 $2,558,693
DONORS
2043
VOLUNTEER HOURS
1808
HOMES IMPACTED
STATE AND COUNTY FUNDS
FEDERAL HUD FUNDS
DONATED GOODS AND SERVICES
UTILITY COMPANY REBATES
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
CLIENTS
ENDOWMENT INCOME & RESERVES
FINANCIAL COACHING
REMODELING TOGETHER
WEATHERIZATION & FURNACES
HOME ACCESS RAMPS
BATH MODIFICATIONS
HEALTH & SAFETY REPAIRS
WE GIVE THANKS!
You Can Help! Please make a greatly
needed financial contribution to Home
Repair Services so we can continue
our work in the community. Please call
(616) 241-2601 ext. 222, to learn more.
Most gifts are tax deductible and every
dollar is multiplied many times over
by our amazing volunteers and the
families we serve.

THE IMPACT OF YOU
“After a ramp project that I volunteered
on this summer, I was eating dinner with my wife,
daughter, and son-in-law. I told them the story about
the young man and how excited he and his mom
were to take that first ride down the ramp. It brought
tears to my eyes! I really never thought about how
much impact just a few hours of time could have on
the quality of life of a family until I started volunteering
on ramp builds. What a wonderful place it would
be if every community had a Home Repair Services
and a Community Repair Day!” - Jeff Peel
“I like to participate in the GE
Volunteer opportunity with Home
Repair Services because it reminds
me just how blessed I am and it
helps me better understand what
a big difference HRS is making in
people’s lives.“
Jeff Peel has participated with Community Repair Day for all 25 years of its history! This
dynamic partnership with the HBA of Greater Grand Rapids has resulted in nearly 650
households being impacted – many receiving critically needed home access ramps. After his
most recent volunteer ramp build project, we asked Jeff to reflect on his experience.
Follow us on social media.
www.HomeRepairServices.org
- Jennie Deane-Elliot | GE Aviation

MISSION
Home Repair Services
strengthens vulnerable
Kent County homeowners
because strong
homeowners build
strong communities.
1100 S. Division Ave.
Grand Rapids, MI 49507
www.homerepairservices.org