Trust and pride are two reasons that people — especially seniors — don’t always reach out to us to help them with home repairs. But it’s for those very reasons that people should.
Rebuilding Together Alexandria is a nonprofit that focuses on neighbors helping neighbors. In fact, we’ve helped over 1,700 of our neighbors since 1986. As a community-based organization with over 150 affiliates, we have an extremely trustworthy core of volunteers with experience maintaining, renovating, and improving homes.
With support from these volunteers, we work to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize the Alexandria community by providing free home repairs and modifications. These upgrades are important since most of our clients live near the poverty level.
Our goal is to repair, revitalize, and renew homes throughout our community and make it an easy, stress-free experience for homeowners in need of a little extra help. Here is a small sampling of the work we’ve done for clients*:
Quality: As a native Alexandrian who grew up on Queen Street and worked as a private nurse, Mary saw a Rebuilding Together application in the mail. Although she and her husband had worked hard, the maintenance required on their home had outstripped their financial and physical abilities. They applied and were delighted by the quality of repairs and upgrades provided by Rebuilding Together Alexandria’s volunteers.
Savings: A 60-year Alexandria resident, Steve is a disabled Vietnam War veteran who lost his legs due to Agent Orange, and has difficulty financially and physically maintaining his home. Volunteers applied weather stripping, caulked, sealed outlets, installed insulation, put in a programmable thermostat, and upgraded to compact fluorescent light bulbs, making his home warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, while lessening the energy bills all year round.
Safety: Dorothy bought her home for $9,000 more than 50 years ago. After her husband passed away, Dorothy had difficulties maintaining her home. Our team of volunteers installed smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher, repaired kitchen cabinets, built a walkway, repaired her shed, added a doorbell, and repaired tiles in the kitchen and bathroom, enabling her to stay in her home and live safely.
Right now we are gearing up for the fall. We know there is great need in the community for our services, but like any service, the best way for people to connect is through a referral from someone they trust. This is especially true since many of our customers are older or have disabilities and feel vulnerable or too embarrassed to ask for help. That’s why we are encouraging neighbors, friends, and families to introduce us to them.
The process is easy. Applications can be found on our website at www.RebuildingTogetherAlex.org. Or give us a call at 703-836-1021. We are your partner in making Alexandria an even greater place to live.
- It is Rebuilding Together Alexandria’s policy to not disclose full names.
