By Jackie Kirouac-Fram, Executive Director
In this season of giving, ReBuilding Center is excited to share with you what we are doing with your financial support!
First, some context. Housing in Portland is increasingly unaffordable. Even if you manage to purchase a home, and especially if it’s your first home, and especially especially if it’s the first home in your family for generations, it’s often the case that your mortgage eats up a large portion of your income each month, making it challenging to do the repairs and improvements that transform a house into a safe and healthy home. This is an economic issue, but it’s also an issue of education and empowerment.
Economic: We make home repair affordable.
Through our low prices and free materials for income-qualified folks, we save people more than $600,000 each year. That’s meaningful savings, and helps build economic resilience for people who are paying so much of their income per month just to pay their mortgages (and everyone loves a deal!).
Education: We teach people how to do basic, affordable repairs.
Have you tried to hire a tradesperson lately? It’s so difficult and expensive! There just aren’t enough of them around. We teach people how to do simple plumbing, electrical, and carpentry repairs and building projects, so they can replace an outlet or a toilet without breaking the bank. This year we started providing these programs for free and, starting in 2024, we’ll be bringing them out to community spaces in Gresham and other parts of East County where so many first-time homeowners live. Education is empowerment!
Empowerment: We empower people to be self-sufficient in their homes.
Being able to afford and perform your own home repairs is empowering. If you’re not sure how to maintain or repair your home, it can feel overwhelming and intimidating. With our classes and affordable materials, our community of homeowners, makers, and DIYers can feel more secure, empowered, and self-sufficient in their homes. We all want that.
All of this work is funded by private support and the generosity of our thousands of material donors. We don’t receive any government funding, so we need your help to continue empowering, educating, and economically strengthening homeownership in our community.
If you agree that this work is important, please consider supporting it by making a gift to our ReBuilding for Justice Campaign today. Whether you can give $5 or $5,000, please join our community of supporters.
Thank you!