A Charlotte-based nonprofit is offering free home repairs for local residents.
Realtors® Care Day, hosted by the Canopy Realtor® Association’s Canopy Housing Foundation, is an annual home repair project that assists residents with exterior home repairs.
The home repair project will service homes in Mecklenburg, Iredell and Haywood counties Friday, Sept. 14. Interested homeowners can email the Canopy Housing Foundation at foundation@carolinahome.com. The application closes July 30 at midnight.
Home repairs administered by the foundation include replacing windows and rotten wood, building decks and ramps, landscaping and painting, among other repairs.
Realtors Care Day began in 2009 to assist residents who were unable to afford repairs on generational homes, according to Terri Marshall, executive director of the Canopy Housing Foundation. Since then, the project has evolved to service a variety of homeowners.
“We work with a lot of single parents, senior citizens, people who are working very hard, but just need a little bit of help in terms of those exterior repairs to make sure they’re continuing to live in their home and that they can continue to live in a safe environment,” Marshall said.
The home repair project paused operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but housing struggles continued for many residents. The need for home repairs is even greater this year, Marshall said.
“COVID just created a lot of new situations on top of what we already had in the community, so we feel like it’s even more critical for the project to take place this year,” she said.
This is also the first year the home repair project will service Haywood County following the Haywood Realtor Association’s merger with the Canopy Realtor Association last January.
In addition to accepting applications from interested homeowners, the Canopy Housing Foundation partners with local municipalities and nonprofits to identify residents that need assistance. Marshall said the city of Charlotte provides the foundation with residents the city is unable to help, and the foundation coordinates with local branches of Habitat for Humanity.
Marshall said interested homeowners not included in the project this year will be considered for next year’s project. The Canopy Housing Foundation will also direct homeowners with severe needs to other organizations that can provide assistance.
During the previous Realtors Care Day event in 2019, the foundation assisted 14 home sites and four community sites in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties and helped over 200 homeowners.
Realtors Care Day is among other initiatives by the Canopy Housing Foundation to address housing inequality. This week, the foundation awarded $80,750 in grants to nonprofits in Mecklenburg, Iredell and Haywood counties.
On Oct. 24, the foundation will host the 2021 Strides for Shelter 5k race to fundraise for the Hope House Foundation, a nonprofit that serves women and children experiencing homelessness in Huntersville.