In 2021, we decided that keeping millions of pounds of reclaimed materials out of the landfill is no longer enough. It’s what we do with them next that matters.
We all know that Portland needs more affordable housing. It’s all over the news and all over our hearts. Healthy, affordable, sustainable housing must be at the core of climate justice, and home repair moves us toward that goal.
So, in 2023, we are going to start giving some of these reusable materials away!
Crazy, right? Not really. With your support, there is enough!
Why leverage our materials to focus on home repair? Consider these facts:
It costs an average of 26 times more to build a new affordable home than to repair an existing, currently affordable one.
Nationally, for every affordable housing unit that we build, two others are in disrepair and lost to abandonment, deterioration, or conversion to more expensive housing.
When a low-income homeowner loses their currently affordable home due to an inability to perform critical repairs, that home will most often be either torn down or gut-rehabbed, removing it from the available stock of affordable housing.
Starting this spring, in addition to our ongoing work to promote reuse and repair, to save useful goods from the waste stream, and to maintain our joyful treasure-trove of a store, we will give away a portion of our reclaimed inventory to provide free home repair materials and home repair classes to people who cannot readily afford the necessary repairs to maintain a safe, healthy home.
With your support, we are activating the climate strategies of reuse and repair to help people stay in their homes, keep neighborhoods whole, and retain some income diversity in a city where housing prices are incredibly high. This work is 100% funded by community financial support.
We invite you to join us in our commitment to build community resilience through reuse and repair. Your gifts will help create one more big reason for people to say, “I love that place!”
Please consider making a gift today to our Rebuilding for Justice Campaign.
Thank you!
from the Team at Rebuilding Center
PS. Be sure to check out the VOICES of Rebuilding Center on our ReBuilding for Justice Campaign page! Hear from our community about how we are building that better world everyday in all sorts of ways.