Volunteers help make home repairs possible for everyone

CHRISTOPHER DIAKOPOULOS, The Saratogian

03/31/2005

SARATOGA SPRINGS --Spring may be the season for fixing up the house, but some low-income homeowners don't have the resources or skills to get the job done. That's where the Saratoga County chapter of Rebuilding Together comes in.

The local chapter of the national organization once known as 'Christmas in April' plans to send as many as 250 volunteers out on housing-rehabilitation projects for elderly and disabled homeowners on April 30.

'If you are sick or not physically able to fix things or if you can't afford to, a lot of little things can add up,' Ann Atteo said of the problems around her house that have gone by the wayside as she has fought a battle with cancer. 'These people are a godsend.'

Atteo, 62, of Greenfield, lost her husband two years ago and has been fighting cancer for nearly six years. Her house, a large mobile home with a peaked roof jacked up on stilts, has drafty windows and doors, and a boarded-up storm door serves as the exterior back door.

Although the house is also scheduled for a new coat of paint, weatherization is the goal the Rebuilding Together Saratoga County team will work toward in the last weekend in April.

'Our mission is to help elderly people stay in their home safely,' said RTSC founder Michelle Larkin. The group was formed in December 2003.

'While we're there, we might as well make it a little nicer,' she said of the paint job, noting that the group probably wouldn't just accept an application for house painting.

Between 20 and 25 volunteers are expected to descend on Atteo's house and fix it up, while seven other teams work simultaneously on other houses in Milton, Gansevoort, Wilton, Schuylerville and Saratoga Springs.

Larkin said the organization is always on the lookout for skilled volunteers to captain the house teams or be available to do work throughout the year but that all volunteers are welcome, including teens, as long as their parents are involved.

Although the group is driven by a large group of volunteers, including an 18-member volunteer board of directors, Larkin said the organization's name really refers to partnering with other organizations, especially businesses, to get the job done.

With a long list of local businesses that have donated money, supplies or other services, Larkin emphasized the fact that Rebuilding Together only collected about $30,000 to support this year's program, but those dollars would be stretched fourfold thanks to those businesses that have taken more than a monetary interest in helping out.

A great example, Larkin said, is how the Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church of Greenfield will be providing lunch to all the volunteers at Atteo's house.

Although Larkin has been swamped with individuals and organizations interested in helping this April, she said she hopes the interest will continue throughout the year as the nonprofit organization tries to expand its services.