Rebuilding Day to take on 18 projects

“Understanding the intergenerational wealth that homeownership can provide, when a family has a home and they may be of limited income, maybe they’re unable to maintain the home in a safe and healthy manner,” he said. “They’re at risk of not being able to live in the home, losing the opportunity to pass home wealth down to future generations.” 

Low-income households from South San Francisco to East Palo Alto are able to apply for renovation services through Rebuilding Together Peninsula year-round, although large-scale projects are being completed in April as part of the national day of action. 

Restoration projects can be lifesavers for low-income Peninsula residents, often struggling with high costs of living and homeownership in one of the most expensive areas in the world, Skelton said. 

“Construction cost in the Bay is extremely high — it’s one of the most expensive places to build and construct in the world. People and homeowners of limited income, it affects them particularly hard, choosing grocery and electrical bills over repair bills,” he said. “That’s where we can step in and help them.” 

San Mateo homeowner Terri McDowell will have her home repaired in a variety of ways over the next two days, including fresh exterior paint, fence repair, clearing backyard debris and miscellaneous interior repairs, like upgrading her home’s heater. 

The home has been in McDowell’s family since 1946, and the repairs will allow her to maintain living in the space, she said in a Rebuilding Together Peninsula press release. 

“We need to keep this in the family,” McDowell said. 

In South San Francisco, the Friends to Parents Infant and Preschool Childcare center will undergo major classroom remodels headed by Whiting-Turner Construction. A team of more than 50 volunteers are working to complete projects started in the fall, including refreshing the grounds and classroom reconstruction. 

While contractors and construction employees are present at some sites, other projects are completed by teams of volunteers, often brought in by corporate sponsors. Rebuilding Together Peninsula has 31 sponsors, including corporations, nonprofits and general contractors, Skelton said. 

“A typical team is a corporate team, not a general contractor, we call them unskilled, because they may be lawyers or bankers, not professionals skilled with home repair work. We do a lot of painting and a lot of education about light repair work,” he said. “General contractors supply larger teams doing more complicated work.” 

The volunteering experience is a way for participants to give back to their community, Skelton said. 

“The work we do provides something tangible, with visible, immediate impact. Holding a paintbrush, holding a hammer, putting up a fence board. And the homeowner is on ground with you, with gratitude you can sense rather immediately,” he said. “It makes our volunteer experience unique.”

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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