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Home / Housing Opportunities / 2024 Free Home Repair Program Accepting Applications Now!

2024 Free Home Repair Program Accepting Applications Now!

March 8, 2024 by Holly Abney

Woonsocket residents are no strangers to mass community efforts to revitalize and rehabilitate their amazing city. Our team here at NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley is beyond excited to help facilitate an incredible opportunity for Woonsocket homeowners this coming Summer–one that we promise, is as good as it sounds.

This July, Group Cares will send over 200 Christian volunteers to flood the City on a mission to repair homes across Woonsocket. Senior citizens, veterans, disabled and lower-income Woonsocket homeowners are currently invited to apply to receive FREE HOME REPAIRS-no strings attached. Eligible repair projects include exterior painting up to 25ft, interior painting, wheel chair accessibility construction, porch and step repair/replacement, and landscaping.

“Home repairs are expensive, and current inflation and rising interest rates have made many necessary repairs out of reach for so many local homeowners,” said Paula Rezendes, NWBRV Free Home Repair Project Manager. “We’re grateful for the commitment of these young adults from across the country who have volunteered their time and money to support these Woonsocket residents.”

The Woonsocket Free Home Repair program is truly an exceptional opportunity that we highly encourage Woonsocket residents to take full advantage of. The 2024 Free Home Repair Program will occur the week of July 14th, 2024. Throughout the course of the week, 250 teenage volunteers and their chaperones and construction supervisors will arrive in Woonsocket to provide free home repairs for 20-30 homeowners. Volunteers will stay at Woonsocket Middle School; breaking into teams of 6 to provide repairs at homes during the day.

“These really are remarkable young people,” said Mike Krantz, of Group Cares. “Each one is actually paying for the privilege of working in your community. Registration fees are used to cover our costs for food, insurance, and building materials.”

Applications for this completely free program are available in both English and Spanish online and in paper form from 9am-5pm at NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, located on 719 Front Street, Suite 103. Each recipient must be able to provide 4-5 days of work for a group of 6 volunteers, a bathroom for the volunteers to use, and be present during the week.

APPLY

The kids were great and their work was wonderful! I’m so happy with how my property looks. The job they did definitely increased the value of my home and improved the property. The kids were a great group; they even invited me to join in the work. They painted the outside of my house, the porch rails, my children’s bedrooms and the downstairs ceilings!”

2022 Free Home Repair Recipient, Kimberly Arnold

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Based on past experience, interested applicants are encouraged to apply ASAP. We will stop accepting applications once 60 have been received.

“It’s so amazingly uplifting to see how these groups of youth bond with the homeowners,” Paula said. They sit at lunch together, pray, read scriptures. So many homeowners were thrilled to be involved in the repairs. This opportunity is for real—it’s zero out of pocket for families.”

2024 will mark the sixth year NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley has partnered with Group Cares to offer the Free Home Repair Program. Over the course of the first five years of the program, which has taken place in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023, over 200 homes have been repaired by 1578 volunteers, contributing over 30,000 hours of volunteer investment into the City. The Free Home Repair Program has invested $1.5 million in the Woonsocket Community since launching in 2016.

Questions about the Free Home Repair Program or the application can be directed to the Program Manager Paula Rezendes, prezendes@nwbrv.org, 401-762-0993.


Group Cares, a Loveland Colorado based nonprofit, serves communities worldwide through donations of money, time and manpower. The Christian organization behind parent organization Group Mission Trips, works tirelessly to bring meaningful service to the communities they serve.

For more information on Group Cares , please visit Group Cares online at https://groupmissiontrips.com/trip-types/home-repair. Whether you seek home repair, or to be a part of this wonderful organization, we encourage you to research the program further.

Filed Under: Housing Opportunities, News

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Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895
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