Making homes safer for families who can’t always make ends meet

April 28, 2020
by Susan Hawfield, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management at Rebuilding Together National

On one of our Rebuilding Together project sites, I had the opportunity to meet Shaun and Leanne, a couple who was raising three children in their home of seven years. The two of them work hard to provide for their family. At the time, Shaun was going to school and both were working to put food on the table and pay their mortgage.

As Leanne put it, “there’s priorities with money and the house doesn’t always come first, groceries come first, bills come first to actually keep the house.”

With a growing family, the basement of their home would have been an ideal place for their kids to play, but water leaks were causing mold to grow, making the space unsafe. Being fully aware of the health concerns Shaun and Leanne closed off the basement to their children.

Rebuilding Together abated the mold and volunteers eliminated water entry into the basement to prevent the issue from coming back. Families like Shaun and Leanne’s should not have to choose between putting food on the table and having a safe home to raise their children. With your help, we can make critical home repairs for our neighbors in need.

“If Rebuilding Together wouldn’t be here to help us, we would probably have to foreclose on the house,” Shaun told us.

Rebuilding Together works year-round, across the country to make sure hardworking families have access to safe homes. Through this work, families can put food on the table and not worry about the roof over their head.