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2016<br />
IMPACT<br />
REPORT<br />
July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016
TRANSITIONS AT HOME<br />
Dear Friend,<br />
It has been an exciting year at Home Repair<br />
Services (HRS). For the first time since the<br />
final days of the Carter Administration,<br />
the agency experienced a transition in<br />
executive leadership. On January 1, 1980,<br />
a young Dave Jacobs took the reins of a<br />
then young Home Repair Services and on<br />
November 9, 2015, I was welcomed in as<br />
Dave’s successor.<br />
In his 34 years here, Dave built a strong,<br />
client-centered organization that has never<br />
veered from its missional lane of supporting<br />
and equipping lower-income homeowners<br />
for success. This, along with core<br />
characteristics of compassion, stewardship,<br />
dignity and collaboration, is what<br />
distinguishes HRS and helps define the<br />
work we do and how we do it. This will<br />
not change.<br />
I want to personally express to you my<br />
gratitude for your support of this important<br />
mission. This past year, you helped<br />
vulnerable, lower-income homeowners<br />
throughout Kent County gain access to<br />
critically needed emergency repairs, regain<br />
their independence through an access ramp<br />
and more safely age in their own homes with<br />
a bathroom modification. You helped people<br />
build their repair and remodeling skills to a<br />
level where they could fix and improve their<br />
own homes. You empowered homeowners<br />
through financial coaching and helped spare<br />
homeowners from the spiral of losing a home<br />
to foreclosure. Your support helped make<br />
possible 24 gleaming, new do-it-yourself<br />
kitchens and enabled us to complete 145<br />
Home Maintenance Check-up inspections.<br />
You even improved food security in Kent<br />
County through our partnership in the<br />
innovative Community Food Club of<br />
Greater Grand Rapids.
Together, we have built up homes, and<br />
together, we have built up the people that<br />
live in them. What a great combination—<br />
thanks for making it possible!<br />
There remains plenty for us to do. As our<br />
community confronts an affordable housing<br />
crisis, the work of HRS is as important as<br />
ever. As forgotten neighborhoods get<br />
rediscovered, we hope that our equipping<br />
work positions lower-income homeowners<br />
to be able to stay in place—to welcome<br />
newcomers to the neighborhood they<br />
helped anchor for years—not to leave it.<br />
Their presence—the diversity they bring—<br />
is a very important ingredient for a stronger,<br />
more vibrant and just Kent County.<br />
So it is truly my privilege to invite you to<br />
read the following pages and learn more<br />
about the impact that HRS had this past year.<br />
Your continued interest, collaboration and<br />
financial support – your partnership – has<br />
been so important over the years and it is so<br />
appreciated. We hope that you will continue<br />
to stay with us and if you are new to HRS, we<br />
welcome you to the family.<br />
Joel Ruiter | Executive Director<br />
ONE OF THE BEST GIFTS<br />
THAT DAVE JACOBS LEFT<br />
BEHIND WAS THE HRS<br />
STAFF PICTURED ABOVE.<br />
THEY ARE THE “SECRET<br />
SAUCE” THAT MAKES HRS<br />
SO SPECIAL. PASSIONATE,<br />
PURPOSEFUL, DEDICATED<br />
AND DETERMINED — I<br />
SALUTE THEM!
STRONGER<br />
HOMES
MAJOR & MINOR REPAIR PROGRAMS<br />
1685<br />
76<br />
244<br />
26<br />
health & safety jobs completed<br />
new furnaces installed<br />
roof repairs<br />
new roofs installed<br />
ACCESS RAMPS<br />
33<br />
17<br />
BATHROOM MODIFICATIONS<br />
55<br />
85<br />
home access ramps constructed<br />
donated by HBA members<br />
bathrooms modified<br />
new toilets installed<br />
OUR CLIENTS<br />
Race<br />
Asian 1%<br />
Black 39%<br />
Hispanic/Other/Multiple Race 13%<br />
Native American 1%<br />
White 46%<br />
Female – headed household 72%<br />
Clients aged 60 or greater 65%<br />
Average length in current home 9 years<br />
Average Income $20,207
2016 Resourceful Homeowner Award recipient,<br />
Rosemary Weber<br />
STRONGER<br />
HOMEOWNERS
FINANCIAL COACHING<br />
387<br />
79<br />
33<br />
coaching sessions<br />
mortgage foreclosures averted<br />
property tax foreclosures averted<br />
THE FIX-IT SCHOOL<br />
60<br />
580<br />
6<br />
HOME MAINTENANCE CHECK-UPS<br />
145 inspections completed<br />
80 inspections completed for seniors<br />
90% inspections where a critical health<br />
& safety repair was identified<br />
REMODELING TOGETHER<br />
24<br />
11<br />
120<br />
total hands-on training classes held<br />
total students attended<br />
women-only classes held<br />
new kitchen & bath projects completed<br />
families assisted by a remodeling coach<br />
projects completed since program<br />
inception in 2011<br />
HOME REPAIR SERVICES<br />
SEEKS TO INVEST IN<br />
PEOPLE BY EQUIPPING<br />
THEM WITH THE TOOLS<br />
FOR SUCCESS.
STORIES FROM HOME:<br />
BUILDING STRONG HOMES<br />
When Darla Rector’s husband Glenn slipped<br />
and fell in the shower, knocking the spout<br />
off the shower wall, her first two phone calls<br />
were to local plumbing contractors. After two<br />
estimates for repair came in at $700 or more<br />
and with limited resources, she began to fear<br />
what would have to take place to restore the<br />
full use of their bath. Desperate for a more<br />
viable option, she reached out to the Area<br />
Agency on Aging, who connected her to<br />
Home Repair Services.<br />
Darla registered for our repair program and<br />
placed a work order to have the spout fixed.<br />
When HRS Plumbing Supervisor, Jim Lynch, got<br />
to their home to assess the repairs, he saw an<br />
opportunity for much more than a quick spout<br />
repair — he saw an opportunity to completely<br />
modify their bathroom to help the Rectors<br />
continue to live safely with ease in their own<br />
home at a much more affordable price.<br />
“It felt like Christmas,” Darla shared. “This day<br />
and age, you don’t always get people doing<br />
that for you. It’s just wonderful to have a place<br />
that cares for seniors and the disabled.”<br />
After consulting with our partner Disability<br />
Advocates and reviewing the costs with Darla,<br />
Jim and our repair team got to work. They not<br />
only repaired the damaged spout but they<br />
replaced the high step-over bathtub with a<br />
low-threshold walk-in shower, installed an<br />
elevated toilet, and completed some needed<br />
repairs to the bathroom sink. Through our<br />
partnership with the Kent County Senior Millage,<br />
the total cost of the Rector’s co-payment<br />
for the entire bath modification ended up<br />
being less than the original plumber estimates<br />
to fix the broken spout. Darla was overjoyed!<br />
Darla and Glenn have been enjoying the new,<br />
safer configuration for several months now<br />
and she continues to praise the great work<br />
and relationship she developed with our<br />
repair team members. “It’s a wonderful organization<br />
to tell people about. Home Repair<br />
Services is well needed in the community.”
STORIES FROM HOME:<br />
BUILDING STRONG HOMEOWNERS<br />
In addition to its well-maintained appearance<br />
and inviting front porch, when you approach<br />
the home of Lynn and Eunice Griffin, you will<br />
immediately notice the prominent position<br />
given to the American flag.<br />
“Installing the flag on the front of the porch<br />
was the very first home-improvement project<br />
that I did after buying the home,” Lynn shared<br />
proudly. It makes sense when you know that<br />
Lynn served in the military for over 30 years.<br />
He retired from the Army in 2006 with the<br />
rank of sergeant.<br />
As a first-time homeowner, Lynn was eager<br />
for some education. He heard about the free<br />
hands-on classes offered at Home Repair<br />
Services and quickly became a Saturday<br />
regular at the Fix-It School. He has taken<br />
every class that we offer—some of them<br />
twice. “I figured that if my name was on the<br />
deed, I should know how to keep it up, to<br />
make some repairs myself.”<br />
On his many visits to HRS, he learned<br />
of the Remodeling Together Program.<br />
Bolstered by his burgeoning skills and<br />
growing confidence, he signed up with BJ<br />
Jordan, Self-Help Program Manager, to take<br />
on a do-it-yourself kitchen remodel. BJ met<br />
with Lynn and Eunice in their home, listened<br />
to their dreams and, together, they came up<br />
with a new design. Cabinets were ordered,<br />
demolition was completed and with the<br />
expert help of HRS coach Steve Sielaff,<br />
the Griffins’ new kitchen came together<br />
beautifully over a period of 10 weeks.<br />
It came together so well, in fact, that it was<br />
judged as one of the four finalists for the 2016<br />
Resourceful Homeowner Award back in March.<br />
With the kitchen complete, Lynn has moved<br />
on to a number of other improvements around<br />
the house. He has also become quite popular<br />
with his friends and neighbors, helping<br />
them discover what is possible with the right<br />
training, the right tools and the right attitude.<br />
In reflecting on tools—especially his fondness<br />
for power tools—Lynn flashed his million-dollar<br />
smile and said, “If you have the right tool<br />
for the right job, it makes your life a snap!”<br />
Photos courtesy of KriZma Photo
THE IMPACT OF RESOURCES<br />
17%<br />
3%<br />
2%<br />
8%<br />
7%<br />
10%<br />
417<br />
31%<br />
18%<br />
41% 2015<br />
USES<br />
18%<br />
32% 9% 4%<br />
2015<br />
SOURCES<br />
$2,558,693 $2,558,693<br />
DONORS<br />
2043<br />
VOLUNTEER HOURS<br />
1808<br />
HOMES IMPACTED<br />
STATE AND COUNTY FUNDS<br />
FEDERAL HUD FUNDS<br />
DONATED GOODS AND SERVICES<br />
UTILITY COMPANY REBATES<br />
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS<br />
CLIENTS<br />
ENDOWMENT INCOME & RESERVES<br />
FINANCIAL COACHING<br />
REMODELING TOGETHER<br />
WEATHERIZATION & FURNACES<br />
HOME ACCESS RAMPS<br />
BATH MODIFICATIONS<br />
HEALTH & SAFETY REPAIRS<br />
WE GIVE THANKS!<br />
You Can Help! Please make a greatly<br />
needed financial contribution to Home<br />
Repair Services so we can continue<br />
our work in the community. Please call<br />
(616) 241-2601 ext. 222, to learn more.<br />
Most gifts are tax deductible and every<br />
dollar is multiplied many times over<br />
by our amazing volunteers and the<br />
families we serve.
THE IMPACT OF YOU<br />
“After a ramp project that I volunteered<br />
on this summer, I was eating dinner with my wife,<br />
daughter, and son-in-law. I told them the story about<br />
the young man and how excited he and his mom<br />
were to take that first ride down the ramp. It brought<br />
tears to my eyes! I really never thought about how<br />
much impact just a few hours of time could have on<br />
the quality of life of a family until I started volunteering<br />
on ramp builds. What a wonderful place it would<br />
be if every community had a Home Repair Services<br />
and a Community Repair Day!” - Jeff Peel<br />
“I like to participate in the GE<br />
Volunteer opportunity with Home<br />
Repair Services because it reminds<br />
me just how blessed I am and it<br />
helps me better understand what<br />
a big difference HRS is making in<br />
people’s lives.“<br />
Jeff Peel has participated with Community Repair Day for all 25 years of its history! This<br />
dynamic partnership with the HBA of Greater Grand Rapids has resulted in nearly 650<br />
households being impacted – many receiving critically needed home access ramps. After his<br />
most recent volunteer ramp build project, we asked Jeff to reflect on his experience.<br />
Follow us on social media.<br />
www.HomeRepairServices.org<br />
- Jennie Deane-Elliot | GE Aviation
MISSION<br />
Home Repair Services<br />
strengthens vulnerable<br />
Kent County homeowners<br />
because strong<br />
homeowners build<br />
strong communities.<br />
1100 S. Division Ave.<br />
Grand Rapids, MI 49507<br />
www.homerepairservices.org