Ed Smith spoke with Abigail Blake, the Family Services Director at the Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity.
-Abigail talked about how she got involved with the organization, starting out as a volunteer.
-She explained the merger and how they now service Monroe, Ontario and Wayne Counties.
-She talked about the benefits of this merger and how they are able to build more houses because they have larger buying power and more resources now.
-Abigail says they have seen a huge increase in the number of people applying for assistance.
-She explained how their Homebuyer program works and how folks apply for it.This is their signature program that they have done for years. She gave some examples of the training they provide people in addition to helping them build a home they provide financial and budget education.
-Abigail says they have a new program called Critical Home Repair. This is fully grant funded and helps existing homeowners with healthy, safety and accessibility repairs so they can continue to stay in their home.
-They were just designated to do home repairs for veterans.
-She said with all of this growth in their organization they are trying to hire more employees and bring in more volunteers.
-She said if someone is having their kitchen remodelled they can donate their old cupboards and other items with their Kitchen Tearout Program. They have a team that will go into the home and remove the items at no cost. These items are sold at their ReStore and all funds go back into their programs.
-Abigail encouraged people to consider volunteering or making a donation.