Volunteers Make Repairs To Elderly Alpharetta Woman's Home

ALPHARETTA, GA -- Rebuilding Together Atlanta, a non-profit organization striving to preserve and revitalize low-income homes in metro Atlanta, recently descended onto Alpharetta to help improve the look of woman's family home.

The organization hosted a rebuild on Wednesday, Sept 27 at a residence off Hopewell Road. The Alpharetta rebuild, sponsored by Ultimate Software, is one of two rebuilds the Ultimate Software is sponsoring this year. The event was one of 25 rebuilds RTA will undertake this year as part of its 25th anniversary.

The Alpharetta homeowner, Elaine, is an 81-year-old woman who has been living on her land for 32 years in a house her family built. The house was very secluded and overgrown with various weeds. A retired school cafeteria cook, Elaine can no longer prepare meals for herself and relies on Meals On Wheels for nutrition.

Many of her family members have passed away and her mobility has become more limited with age, resulting in her being unable to walk upstairs in five years (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

In fact, due to the overgrown nature of her property, her church helped her lay gravel and clear her driveway to help Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver food to her home. RTA was thrilled to help Elaine, and some of the repairs made during the rebuild included fixing her front stairs, clearing tall grasses, limbs, branches and vines away from the house, and repairing screens and doors on her porch.

“At RTA, we steadfastly believe that everyone deserves to live in a safe and healthy home,” said RTA Executive Director Camille Kesler. “We are so excited to honor our 25 years of service by doing what we do best – restoring 25 homes for deserving people in need. We honor our initiatives by providing critical home repairs, accessibility modifications and energy-efficient upgrades at no cost to each of these 25 recipients.”

RTA strives toward one day ending substandard housing in Atlanta. With the combined efforts of community-minded supporters, including volunteers and corporate sponsors, RTA facilitates necessary home repairs, such as home modifications, roofing, plumbing, painting, wall and floor repairs and more. It also works to assure that low-income homeowners, particularly older adults, military veterans, people with disabilities and families with children, live in warmth, safety and independence.

Since its inception, RTA has worked on more than 900 home projects, with a market value totaling more than $3 million. RTA leverages each dollar four times through donated materials and labor, providing significant renovations at no cost to the homeowner.

You can learn more about RTA by visiting its website as well as its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

Image via Rebuilding Together Atlanta