Working to keep people in their homes Things fall apart, as W.B. Yeats and any homeowner would tell you. Leave weather and gravity to do their work and the old barn will sooner or later fall down, if you don't fight back. And it won't take anything even remotely approaching 20 centuries.
But if you aren't up to the battle - if, say, you're getting on in years or if you've become disabled or if your income doesn't allow hiring out the work - you might find yourself looking at the home you've loved and sweated over and paid for all these decades deteriorate around you, perhaps to the point that it is becoming a hazard.
But scores of local folks in such straits saw things head back in the right direction last Saturday during Spring Rebuilding Day, when volunteers fanned out to re-roof and re-plumb and patch plaster, among many other repairs.
The work was coordinated by Rebuilding Together Seattle, an organization now in its 15th year.
"We have skilled contractors from all fields who help us on these projects," said John Thuma, the organization's director and its sole fulltime employee. "About 80 percent of our funds come from our sponsor base - companies, trade associations, churches, community groups who pool resources and sponsor a house."
It used to be that Rebuilding Together Seattle, and its 270 or so co-affiliates across the country, did their work only on the last Saturday in April. That day is still the group's high holy day, but they have since added a Fall Rebuilding Day, on the first Saturday in October, and have taken on projects that just can't get done in a single day, no matter how many volunteers you have climbing over and around each other at the worksites. And there is now a year-round emergency service, which makes immediate repairs on plumbing and wiring and heating systems to keep homes in at least minimally habitable condition.
"We are oversubscribed on volunteers," Thuma said. "We turn away volunteers, not by choice. The only reason we can't take them on is because we don't have the funds [for materials]."
The Seattle affiliate is among the longest-lived in the national group, which, until four years ago, was called Christmas In April.
"About 25 years ago, Christmas in April was formed by some folks in Texas," Thuma explained, "It was originally made up of some folks from churches who got together. A homeowner" - a beneficiary of the effort - "said, 'This is like Christmas in April,' and the name stuck. But that name doesn't do justice to what we do. Fundamentally, 'rebuilding together' is what we do."
And then there was some concern that the Christian reference might leave an inaccurate impression.
"That was a motivator, to eliminate that inference," Thuma said. "There's no requirement as to any particular faith. We are not a faith-based organization or ministry."
Rebuilding Together Seattle funders and volunteers will contribute about $1 million worth of home repairs this year, Thuma said. That's an average of about $14,000 per site, but a few large projects skew that statistic. A more typical job is valued at something like $5,000, he said.
The ultimate aim is to keep people in their homes. Besides repairs, accessibility improvements - ramps where stairs used to be, grab rails in bathrooms, etc. - are also carried out.
But for some people, folks who have always seen themselves as self-reliant, accepting the help can prove difficult.
"There's a perceived pride issue, as far as receiving assistance," Thuma said. "It's not like we're saying, 'Here's $5,000 in charity.' It's about making their homes warm and safe and accessible, so they can live there as long as possible. It's friends and neighbors coming together to help."
Among the Southeast Seattle homes getting repairs last Saturday was Bill Jimerson's place, over by Hillman City. Jimerson, who has been in his home 33 years, was getting a new roof, a new porch, some electrical work and exterior paint.
"I used to know everybody around here," he said, as volunteers - tradesmen and go-fers alike - scrambled around his home. "Some moved on, some died, but we still have a few old-timers."
And his view of Rebuilding Together Seattle?
"We got a bunch of beautiful people here, that's all I can say," he said. "There are still some good people left in this world, and I thank God for that."
Rebuilding Together Seattle finds worthy homeowners through word of mouth, postings on bulletin boards at churches and senior centers and through referrals from past recipients.
"We're ringing the bell wherever we can," Thuma said. "We get referrals from other service agencies."
Rebuilding Together Seattle has expanded its efforts, and its space. The organization occupies a fourth-floor office (such as it is-there are no potted palms or Aeron chairs) in an old warehouse in the South Lake Union area, a building that has gradually filled with not-for-profits. Rebuilding Together recently took over a piece of the basement, to store material and appliances. Historically, the organization has taken on about one in every three requests for help it receives, Thuma said, although he is looking to improve that ratio.
"We're taking on more," he said. "With our year-round work, we're taking on smaller things that we couldn't get to before."
And, of course, more money couldn't hurt.
Rebuilding Together Seattle can be reached at 682-1231 or at RebuildingTogetherSeattle.org.
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