MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, the organization that builds homes and helps low-income families become home owners. I had the opportunity to volunteer last week with a similar organization but with a very different mission. Rebuilding Together primarily serves folks who are already homeowners, helping them in the renovation and modification of homes with a particular focus on repairing and abating serious health and safety issues in and around the home.

The folks they typically help are very low-income senior citizens, the disabled and veterans or families of veterans, such as widows.

I happen to have a serious soft spot for senior citizens, so I became immediately interested when I discovered this organization and wanted to learn more about what they are doing and how they are helping this especially vulnerable population.

Rebuilding Together is a nationwide organization with independent chapters in communities all over the country. It has been helping people for over 25 years. The local chapter, Rebuilding Together Solano County, was formed in 2009 by a group of folks led by Elizabeth Hoffman. Elizabeth had been volunteering with the Oakland chapter for many years when her parents relocated to Glen Cove and encouraged her to start up the local chapter.

In the five years they have been in Solano County, they have rehabilitated 17 homes and participated in several other renovation projects of community facilities, such as the Vallejo Veterans Memorial Building.

The services they provide are without cost to the homeowner. They use teams of volunteers and donated materials to accomplish most of the work. Since 2009, they estimate the retail value of the goods and services they have provided at $1.75 million — remarkable when you consider the operating budget for the organization is less than $100,000 per year.

Elizabeth is quick to point out that Rebuilding Together provides a hand up to folks in need, not a handout. I think that is one of the best things about the organization. Seniors they encounter often are living reclusive lives; she told me one story of a senior in Benicia who had nailed all of her windows shut because she thought it provided protection from intruders, when in fact it created a serious hazard in the event of a fire.

To receive assistance, a senior must agree to give back in the form of assistance to the organization. Typically this might be assistance with office duties, or perhaps working on another senior’s home, if the individual has the skills and ability. A side benefit for the senior is a renewed sense of personal value and purpose.

One homeowner I met had recently had work completed on her home and was now volunteering her time with the organization. When Rebuilding Together first encountered “Betty,” her home was in serious disrepair. The original 1950s-era home had a leaky roof for years that had caused serious black mold contamination in some of her rooms. Inaddition, there was no insulation, and the wiring was dangerous.

Rebuilding Together came in with a professional abatement team to remove the black mold and drywall that contained asbestos. Volunteers then came in to re-wire, insulate and hang new drywall. They replaced Betty’s leaky roof and painted the home inside and out.

Betty now lives in a safe home and she can once again have friends visit her. She volunteers as much time as she can each week and has made a bunch of new friends who, just like her, have been helped out by Rebuilding Together Solano County.

To volunteer or donate to this great group, contact Elizabeth Hoffman at Rebuilding Together Solano County, 707-580-9360 or Ehoffman.rtsc@gmail.com.

Guy Benjamin (CAL BRE License #01014834, NMLS 887909) writes a weekly column for The Herald, offering general information on real estate matters. As it is impossible to address all possibilities and variations, he will try to answer individual questions by readers who contact him at 707-246-0949 or guyb@fairwaymc.com.

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