October 4th 2008 marked the completion of Hope for Charlotte’s participation in Habitat for Humanity Critical Home Repair, Building on Faith. This was Critical Home Repair’s first year taking on such a massive task throughout Charlotte. They tackled 18 houses, while serving 25 families in a 3 day period.
Critical Home Repair is a fairly new program within Habitat for Humanity, which started when the need for repairs on existing homes was greater then the need for new homes. Many people in Charlotte own their homes out-right as they have been passed down from generation to generation. But as these houses get older, things start to break and leak. Most of the home owners do not have the physical or financial means to fix these problems and they become very unsafe. Thus, Critical Home Repair was born.
Hope for Charlotte was assigned Miss Little’s house off of Graham Street. Slowly going blind Miss Little was unable to get her housed fixed. The roof leaked, the shower was without several tiles with the plumbing exposed, the toilet was unstable due to years of leakage and her porch roof was so rotten, that it was unsafe to walk under as it might have fallen at any given time.
With the help of over 15 different volunteers and companies ( Daltile and Paint Depot in Matthews, NC), Hope for Charlotte was able to fix each and every problem, plus paint the entire exterior with a fresh coat of paint, fix the squeaky front door, replace the side porch door and clean up her gardens around the house.
But more importantly, what made this project a huge success was the relationship all of the volunteers made with Miss Little. Her heart for the Lord, her perspective on life and her thankfulness in all things. She made such an impact on all of us. One that will never be forgotten and that will be carried throughout all of are lives.
Miss Little’s heart is one that we would all hope to have.
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| Building On Faith 2008 |
