December 5, 2024 - As the very first snowflakes of the season fell, 40 intrepid volunteers from the Greenwich Association of REALTORS® (GAR) wrapped up the fifth annual “Fall HomeFront Days.” Their focus during this high-impact encore of their work with the program was to make the home of a Cos Cob widow in her 90s safer, warmer and more livable. By the end of their workday, they rectified some facia board damage to keep squirrels out, replaced dangerous steps and railings, patched and painted walls, cleaned gutters and installed new ones while dispatching a mountain of leaves and trimming shrubs and trees that threatened the home.GAR volunteers were in solidarity with 400 volunteers from 10 community groups participating across nine CT cities. Kicked off in late August, volunteers completed life-changing repairs through late November. With an eye toward making homes more livable for the colder months, this season’s outpouring united local corporate, civic and faith-based groups for the benefit of older adults on fixed incomes, veterans, persons with disabilities, single-parent households and families in transitional crisis. The event capped weeks of planning on behalf of volunteer leaders, representing a major step in HomeFront’s campaign to revitalize more than 50 homes in need this year at no cost to the beneficiaries. In addition to the dedicated helpers, this much needed service is made possible by grants, individual donations and volunteer sponsorships.
HomeFront’s mission is especially crucial in the state of CT where low-income households are more likely to confront health and safety repair issues in their living spaces due to the 6th oldest housing stock in the nation, according to the Partnership for Strong Communities. The ability to afford repairs is hampered given this finding from the United Way of CT: more than one-third of CT homeowners spend over 30 percent of their income on housing.
Many low-income families have been forced to defer crucial home maintenance while having weathered inflation in every area of their lives. In the words of Board Chair, Kenneth Wiegand, “HomeFront is proud to play a part in restoring housing stability to our neighbors in need. So many of our beneficiaries thank us for making their homes more livable while freeing up precious finances that they can apply to home heating fuel, food, prescriptions, textbooks and other necessities.”
The Greenwich Association of REALTORS® (a 501(c)6 organization) is the local trade association for real estate professionals in the Greenwich, CT area. GAR provides professional development, advocacy, and networking opportunities to members, and promotes the value of working with Greenwich Realtors to the public.
Today’s HomeFront organizes Spring and Fall volunteer home repair group events. The program has also ratcheted up assistance with its new initiative called Critical Pro Repair (CPR). Through CPR, skilled HomeFront staff team up with one or two skilled volunteers to deliver crucial repairs such as wheelchair ramps, step and walkway overhauls and deck repairs to struggling families. More than 170 local families have received essential construction aid from HomeFront through CPR since 2020.
The collective compassion of hands-on volunteers, product contributors, foundations and other donors brings HomeFront to the mark of more than 3,200 homes revitalized in program history, delivering $50 million of service where needed most since 1988. HomeFront is a community-based program dedicated to keeping low-income homeowners in their homes with an improved quality of life through substantial repairs completed at no cost to them. HomeFront is accepting applications for help from low-income households. All inquiries are kept confidential. More information on HomeFront can be found online at: www.homefrontprogram.org.
Pictured left to right: Andrew Smith, Suzy Armstrong, Christian Perry, Karen McKenna, Lou, Richard Higgins, Stacey Loh
Pictured left to right: Mairead O'Sullivan, Charles Paternina, Eileen Pate, Richard Higgins
Pictured left to right: Leigh Frost, Katie Schaller
