In
the fall of 1973, an oil scout named Bobby Trimble and a group of friends
saw a problem that needed fixing in their hometown of Midland, Texas:
a growing number of their neighbors needed help maintaining their homes.
Low-income and disabled people, the elderly in particular, could no
longer afford to have leaks repaired, defective wiring corrected, rotting
steps replaced and handrails installed. Trimble and his friends decided
to do something about it. They reasoned that the old idea of "barn
raising" could be revived and applied to modern cities.
They began recruiting skilled and unskilled volunteers to
work one day a year to paint and repair their neighbors' houses in order
to make them warm, safe and dry once again. A reporter from Readers
Digest wrote a story about Bobby Trimble and then founded an affiliate
in Washington DC. In 1988 under the direction of Patty Johnson
the National office was established. The vision and wisdom of Bobby
Trimble and his dream of keeping the elderly and disabled safely within
their homes has spread like fire across the Nation, with over 240 affiliates
working in all 50 states
Rebuilding
Together (formerly Christmas in April) Montgomery County was
founded in 1989 by Jay Treadwell and Gordon Hawk. Since
1990, our growth trajectory has been soaring.
The program has steadily grown from the completion of 20 homes
in 1990 with 600 volunteers to 89 homes and non-profits in
2006 with 1,570 volunteers. The
number attests to the extraordinary power of volunteer energy and human
caring. Over the lifetime
of the program, more than 33,335 people have come forth to transform
1,570 homes and non-profit facilities providing 9.5 million dollars in market value of repairs.
But
the problem we are here to solve is growing. In Montgomery County, there
are 12,104 very low-income owner occupied households of which 5,761
are elderly persons. In Montgomery County between 1990 and 1998
the number of residents ages 60 and over increased by 21%.
In
FY06 the average of our recipients was 67 years old with an income of
$15,575 supporting two family members -- just $1,355 over the poverty level.
Of these homeowners 75% were located in Priority Funding Areas
of Montgomery County. Reports indicate that over the next twenty years, there will be a 74% increase in the number of seniors living in Montgomery County.
We
have repositioned our organization for the future with expanded services
through the LINK, Handyman, Community Revitalization and Home Modification
programs. This expansion provides us with the ability to deliver services
in a year round fashion, and enables us to better utilize the incredible
reservoir of volunteerism that exists within Montgomery County. The
expanded mission presents unlimited opportunities for increased visibility,
exposure and increased service delivery to the community.
In addition we will continue looking at how to expand our linkages
and partnerships with other service providers, assuring that we are
utilizing the best possible community resources on behalf of those we
serve.
Our mission has not changed.
We will continue to work in partnership with community volunteers to provide home repairs, accessibility modifications, and links to community resources to keep low-income homeowners living safely and independently in their homes. We will continue
to focus on housing stock. The
additional services we now offer the community will impact the homeowner
in a holistic manner, enriching their physical environment and personal
health while promoting self-sufficiency and independence.
