BayAreaNExT.org

Homeowners and nonprofits in San Francisco that cannot afford to repair or renovate their properties can submit applications by December 11 to get the work done for free.  On April 24, 2010, hundreds of volunteers will work in teams to renovate the homes of qualifying low-income, disabled and elderly homeowners and non-profit facilities and schools in San Francisco. 
 

This year, Rebuilding Together – which organizes the all-day event – will concentrate up to 40 percent of its resources in the Excelsior. Volunteers will renovate approximately 11 structures in the neighborhood, which has many elderly and low-income homeowners.

“San Francisco is losing its diversity, it’s losing its senior population, it’s losing its affordable housing,” said Karen Nemsick, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together. “We want to do what we can to preserve that.”

Thirty-two percent of low-income seniors in San Francisco own their own homes but cannot afford to make them safe and accessible, according to Nemsick. “We’ve been in places where people haven’t been in their backyard for years because they can’t go down the stairs or haven’t taken a bath for a year because they’re afraid to go into the bathroom,” she said.

In San Francisco, 77 percent of people over the age of 75 who entered long-term care were admitted after falling at home. “A fall at home can lead to someone losing their home,” Nemsick said. In addition to the weekend building boom in April, Rebuilding Together runs a year-round program to improve safety and accessibility for low-income and disabled homeowners.

The annual Rebuilding Weekend began 20 years ago and is part of a national event that engages tens thousands of volunteers.