Rebuilding Together on NPR: Working to Preserve the Affordable Housing Stock

At Rebuilding Together, we know that the affordable housing crisis extends beyond cost—it's about the deteriorating quality of existing homes, which impacts the stability and safety of countless families. With limited resources for essential repairs, many homeowners face conditions that pose serious health and safety risks. Rebuilding Together is working to combat this issue by preserving our country’s affordable housing stock through critical repairs.

In a recent piece from NPR, Rebuilding Together Montgomery County’s Executive Director, Chloe Bernardi, talks about the major increase in referrals her affiliate has seen over the last year. “We are seeing it increase in terms of the need, but also the issues are becoming more significant,” said Bernardi. “We go in maybe for one issue and we can identify four or five other issues that, if we're not fixing then and there, will become more magnified.”

Former elementary school teacher, Pat Haskins, is just one of many neighbors Rebuilding Together Montgomery County has worked with. Home repairs, like a flooded basement, took a back seat for Haskins as she focused on caring for her sick partner. She needed urgent fixes around her home and a wheelchair ramp for her partner’s mobility, but the costs were out of reach. Haskins shared that she doesn’t know where she would go if she had to leave her home, so she’s grateful for the critical repairs Rebuilding Together Montgomery County provided.

Rebuilding Together’s network of affiliates across the country is helping thousands of neighbors, like Haskins, remain safe in their homes. However, long wait lists and lack of funding are major challenges. Supporting legislation like the Whole-Home Repairs Act is important to ensure we can help more neighbors with essential home repairs and sustain affordable housing across communities.

Learn more about Rebuilding Together’s current impact across the country here.