"Rebuilding Day" A Holiday For Low-Income Homeowners

On sunny Spring Saturday morning, approximately 40 people – some from the neighborhood, some from other neighborhoods and even a few police cadets were getting ready to pick up their hammers, saws, drills, and anything else that might be useful in this community effort to rehab homes. Skilled and non-skilled workers were building a brand new deck on the back of a rowhouse on Ward Street. Directly across the street is Paul’s Place, a community center, where more people were signing up to volunteer.

Rebuilding Together Baltimore is a non-profit that was founded 22 years ago. It has performed homes repairs for about 12-hundred low-income homeowners who qualified for their program. “Rebuilding Day,” is an event hosted by the organization every year and is partly sponsored by Baltimore City Housing combined with other groups. Bonnie Bessor is the executive director.

“Rebuilding Day is in two target neighborhoods, one in Baltimore City, one in Baltimore County. This year, we’re working in the Pigtown-Washington Village neighborhood in Baltimore City and the St. Helena in Baltimore County. We’re working on a total of 25 homes today. There’s about 800 volunteers between all the homes and all the community beautification projects that we’re doing.”

Homeowner Alice Marshall had her backdoor and furnace repaired, which was a major issue that made the Winter season almost unbearable.

“If nothing else was done in that house, I didn’t care, but just having that furnace. Because we were living off space heaters, and once in while, we would turn on the stove just to get some heat in. Turn it off, and then turn the space heaters on, so, we’ve been living with space heaters for the past four or five years.”

After slipping on the stairs and injuring his knee, homeowner Roland Brophy was concerned about his living conditions, so volunteers attached a banister for the stairs and laid down new carpet for his safety. 

It’s safety and all it’s a lot of safety. Plus, I have my carpet upstairs all ripped up and all, and I could have tripped and all. With the dog going to the bathroom upstairs all years ago, it’s really helping a lot, the work they doing in here.” 

At Carroll Park, dozens of volunteers added a new coat of paint to the popular skate park where kids ride skateboards and bikes. Chris Vaccaro, Jr., runs the Maryland Skate Commission and sees the effort as a great way to support the kids.

“I think it’s awesome that they came out and did the painting. That’s what we need; we need people to step up.”

Rebuilding Together Baltimore is now looking for more skilled workers for repair projects throughout the year. They will begin preparing for the next “Rebuilding Day” later this year.

I’m Bobby Marvin, reporting in Pigtown, for 88-1, WYPR