Photo: Getty Images
A nonprofit is making much-needed repairs on ten Philadelphia homes for free so the homeowners can afford to stay in their neighborhood. For the past 30 years, Rebuilding Together Philadelphia (RTP) has been fixing up homes across the city to help prevent gentrification and keep housing costs down for longtime residents. Now the organization has their sites set on ten houses in the West Philadelphia neighborhood.
RTP president Stefanie Seldin says the organization repairs over 100 homes a year. "We're going to do 20 houses in this neighborhood and then next year, it'll be another 20 and then another,” explains Seldin. They start off by sending volunteers out to examine properties and knock on doors. Then a team of nearly 200 volunteers and subcontractors descend on the homes and over two days make all the needed repairs.
The work RTP does in the community is made possible by funding through donors, corporations, and assistance from the government. Homeowner Larraine Mobley, one of the ten homeowners receiving free repairs, says it feels like Christmas having the group help her fix up her home. "For the next 12 years, I don't have to worry about my roof," she says. Without the help from RTP, there would be more pressure on residents like Mobley to sell their homes, which would add to rising home prices in the area.
Source: 6 ABC