Building Community Blog

The ReStore has undergone metamorphoses. Once a gangly caterpillar of unorganized doors, miscellaneous fixtures, and a poorly placed front desk, the ReStore wrapped itself in a cocoon of volunteers and generous support from Target in late March, and has now finally emerged as a beautiful new butterfly.

There are several things you can do to winterize your home and ease the financial toll of winter. Some of them cost money upfront, but you’ll save money from reduced heating costs and spare yourself some headaches in the long run. If you want to be warmer this winter while saving money, check out these tips on winterizing your home.

For the past few years, Annie has watched her house deteriorate without any way of making the repairs it desperately needed. As a disabled senior citizen, she does not have the ability to get up on ladders to prepare and paint the exterior of her house and garage.

Annie has lived in the home since 1971 and could not bear the thought of losing the home she had worked so hard to buy. An active volunteer in her community, she heard of A Brush with Kindness and decided to apply. Annie was very excited when she received the news that she had been chosen to receive assistance. 

It’s time for some celebration! Twin Cities Habitat’s Builder’s Circle* is marking a huge milestone in 2012 – a Fifth Anniversary!

Over the past five years, members of the Builder’s Circle have donated their money and time on site to support the mission of Habitat.

Last week about 50 volunteers worked on a rehab project on Case Ave in St Paul. Stories were exchanged about why everyone was involved with Habitat, but in the end it comes down to the transformational effect our work has on partner families, specifically their children. As the walls were framed, conversation always returned back to knowing the impact on all of the children who will have a safe place to call home!

Living in a safe, clean home has always been a dream for Xe Xiong and her husband Yeng.  They spent years living in public housing before they were able to purchase a home large enough to house their growing family – that was 13 years ago. 

Today the family lives in the home with their two teenage daughters and looks forward to their older children visiting. Unfortunately, time has taken a toll on the home and it was in need of many repairs. Yeng became disabled four years ago and fixing things in the home could not be an immediate priority for the family. After her husband became disabled, Xe Xiong and her daughters did not have the strength or knowledge to make all of the necessary repairs to the home. 

On May 22, 2011, North Minneapolis was struck by disaster. Three tornados touched down in the area, killing one person, injuring 30 and leaving thousands without electricity and with severe damage to their homes.

Following the storm, many homes were beyond repair and got abandoned. On top of this, foreclosures continue to be a major problem for the community. 

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity has been working with the North Side of Minneapolis for years, and in light of last year’s tornado, we have extended the amount that we are reaching out to the community. This year, Habitat is hosting a special event on NorthSide to kick off the our Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) work in the area and celebrate the finished repairs to 30 homes in the area. The NRI project will focus on rebuilding an eight-block area in the community.

There is a family in need of help in your neighborhood. Their house may look OK from the outside—maybe the grass is a little long or the gutters haven’t been cleaned. Maybe the house could use a coat of paint. But inside the house is another story.

Inside lives a woman who is 80 years old. She grew up in the house when there were very few other houses around it. She inherited it from her parents when they died, and she has kept it up for all of her adult life with help from her husband and children. Now her husband is dead and her kids all live far away. She has paid off the mortgage, but keeping up with property taxes, insurance, and her medical bills takes most of her Social Security check.

The Willard Hay Neighborhood on the North Side of Minneapolis is full of single-family homes built, for the most part, in the early 20th Century. On May 22, 2011, it was one of the first neighborhoods to be struck by the tornado that ravaged a large part of North Minneapolis. All of the downed trees have been removed from Willard Hay, but blue tarps still cover the roofs of many houses. 

The home I visited had sustained major damage. Its elderly occupant is in an assisted living facility while the house is made ready for occupancy. It already has had a new roof installed and work done on its windows. When I visited, volunteers from Twin Cities Habitat's A Brush with Kindness program were working on the garage. Its roof was so badly damaged that it had to be torn off. The tornado had also blown off the garage door. Ironically, the garage door opening mechanism was intact.

ReStore customers are a talented bunch. The majority have do-it-yourself skills, ranging from beginning to advanced.

Dan O’Halloran is a self-taught craftsman who built this cabinet from a magazine picture that his wife, Dana, found. To make the cabinet doors, he bought inexpensive bi-fold doors at the ReStore and cut them to size. He also shopped the scrap bin at a home improvement store. The total cost of the 8-foot-long unit was under $200.

The cabinet solved a problem for the O’Hallorans. “We do not have a lot of cupboard space in our kitchen,” said Dana. “The cabinet is adjacent to our kitchen counter so we use the bottom of it for items that don’t fit in our kitchen storage. And, honestly, I couldn’t have a better showcase for my Depression glass collection.”

The history a homeowner has with family, friends and neighbors is the foundation of understanding and communicating the partnership we have through A Brush with Kindness. Each family story creates an important partnership that allows those involved with A Brush with Kindness to experience a snapshot of what life is like for our homeowners.

Theadora and her family are one such example of how families involved in A Brush with Kindness are impacted.

Theadora was in eighth grade when her mom bought the house. She was number seven of 10 children. She has great memories growing up in that house. When her mother passed, she was able to make a down payment on the house and purchase it.

Their family values have been hard work, hard play and tradition. Holidays were always special for Theadora and she has carried the traditions on to her children and grandchildren that she raised in the home. Theadora’s mother used to be very involved in the community. Theadora also cares for her neighbors by bringing food to an elderly couple and shoveling their sidewalk.
However, as she has gotten older, it has become very difficult to stay on top of home maintenance. Theadora has faced several city citations and she feared more. She said the house looked so bad she stopped parking in the front.

Habitat’s A Brush with Kindness program, along with many volunteers, repaired and painted Theodora’s home as well as fixed her garage. Theadora said, “The most important thing for me is to be here so I can learn.” Her family is developing new skills as they are helping out, especially her little brother who has been working alongside the volunteers every day. “These are the most wonderful people. You get attached and then they are gone. These people do not have to do this. They are fabulous,” she said. “I would use the word phenomenal.”

She said that after receiving help from ABWK “the weight that has come off my shoulders is amazing. I was taught to give back and you reap what you sow! I could just bust.”

She continued: “It is so great for my children to see this. I can’t wait to get in that front yard and plant flowers. I can enjoy my porch again. I can sit on the steps. When people go above and beyond, it makes you want to do more. It is like a home again. I can’t wait to decorate for Christmas.”

Whether it’s sharing the struggles of a senior trying to remain in their home, or a single parent juggling bills, work and parenting responsibilities to maintain a safe home for her kids, or a disabled veteran coming to grips with the physical and mental challenges of transitioning back to civilian life, these are the stories that intersect the lives of staff, volunteers, sponsors and partners and create the energy and inspiration for our community to walk alongside and help their neighbors.