More Hands, More Homes: Subcontracting Disaster Repairs
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Habitat’s Home Repair team accelerated previously existing plans to launch the Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair (ARCHR), an unincorporated coalition of organizations that provide home repairs and modifications to Buncombe and Madison County residents.
By centralizing intake and communication between organizations engaged in the same work, the nonprofits aiding under-insured or uninsured homeowners could boost collaboration and productivity while decreasing the burden placed on clients and service seekers. Under the ARCHR umbrella, Asheville Habitat’s team was quick to stand up the newly organized Disaster Repair program, pausing applications for the traditional Home Repair program to focus on storm-damaged homes.
ARCHR Partner Organizations
With a new application pipeline in place for clients with storm damage, the Home Repair team set to work immediately alongside ARCHR partners and eager volunteers. WNC residents offered their time and skills to assist with repairs, while groups from across the country traveled to help with storm damaged homes. Progress was being made. Home after home, gutted basements and open roofs were met with helping hands and fresh construction.
Home Repair Volunteers make repairs to a mobile home’s foundation.
Still, the application pool continued to grow. Some jobs were simply too involved, required too high of a skill set, or carried too much risk for volunteer help. Entire homes needed to be gutted down to the studs and treated with mold remediation before repairs could begin. In some cases, the complete replacement of a roof would be more cost-effective than repairs to the existing, damaged structure.
Homes had sat for a quarter, half, or nearly one year without any repairs underway. When it once again became clear that more hands were needed to meet the overwhelming demand, Asheville Habitat and the ARCHR team turned to trusted contractors with proven records of work with Habitat and in disaster recovery. While using subcontractors is common in Habitat’s traditional repair program to take on tasks like replacing roofs and fixing broken HVAC systems, subcontractors became essential to quickly tackle difficult and extensive repairs to serve more families in need.
Today, homeowners are being served at a rapid pace thanks to a national contractor DSW, and local general contractors like Allen Shuler, Neil Chandler, C&L Home Improvement, Quality Craft LLC, Buckingham Electric, and All About Plumbing.
Suzanne’s home before repairs
Suzanne’s home after
Larry stands in his living room as it’s under construction.
Suzanne and Larry’s stories are familiar ones. Our community has made great strides in rebuilding, but much work remains. Many residents impacted by the storm are still living in unsafe, unhealthy, and unstable housing; other homes remain uninhabitable. Demand remains for Asheville Habitat’s traditional Home Repair program, with under-insured and uninsured homeowners in Buncombe and Madison Counties in need of critical health and safety repairs that predated the storm. With trusted businesses able to meet the needs of the community through the ARCHR program, the Home Repair team and volunteers can resume their work.
