Volunteers come together to repair St. Louis homes

ST. LOUIS – Over 200 volunteers joined forces Saturday to bring hope and transformation to local families in need. Thanks to the tireless efforts of “Rebuilding Together St. Louis,” more than a dozen homes received vital repairs, ensuring safety, comfort, and independence for its residents.

Gay Stewart, has lived in her home in The Grove for 22 years. She expressed her gratitude for the initiative.

“They’ve put in grab bars in my bathroom. They’ve redid the plumbing in my kitchen. They’ve installed a hot water heater in my basement. They’ve installed a sub pump so that in case the house should flood, it’ll work properly because it didn’t,” Stewart said.

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Rebuilding Together St. Louis focuses on assisting low-income older adults, people with disabilities, and veterans with essential home repairs. The program is supported by volunteers from companies such as Bank of America, St. Louis Realtors, and numerous others.

Elaine Powers, the executive director of the organization, emphasized the importance of community support.

“On Rebuilding Day, every house has a house sponsor. That financial support of being a house sponsor is really what drives the work that we do on these days,” Powers said,

These repairs go beyond mere physical fixes; they restore dignity and security to families.

“That means that I can live safely here and not be worried about falling or having to go into a senior building,” Steward said.

Rebuilding Together St. Louis has had a mission of providing safe and healthy housing in St. Louis City and County for 30 years. This weekend alone, volunteers worked on 14 homes, with plans to repair more than two dozen by the end of spring.

“We have room for more,” Powers said. “We’ll be doing another concentrated rebuilding day effort in the fall.”

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Rebuilding Together St. Louis welcomes new applicants and volunteers, recognizing the profound impact of their work.

“It improves health, it improves lives, it makes our neighborhoods more sustainable,” Powers said.

Stewart said she was on the wait-list for two years, and says the wait was worth it.

“I just want to thank Rebuilding Together and all their volunteers for taking the time out of their day, out of their lives,” she said . “They’re here volunteering at my home.”

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