Builders Care for the needy

Realty Builder
NEFBA

“Our partnership with Stellar Energy reflects the typical situation we face when we receive a call for help,” said Justin Brown, Builders Care executive director. “Wheelchair ramps and roof repairs are perhaps our most frequently requested service, but for us each project can vary from a few hours work to several days.”
These projects are a representation of the people we serve:

• A veteran injured during Operation Desert Storm was living in a home that had been partially restored, but the project was abandoned before it was finished. The assessment of the home revealed a small section of the roof had water leakage over the pantry. The pantry itself had water damage in the wall and ceiling. All existing paneling and insulation needed to be removed, mold treatment applied, and new sheetrock installed and painted. The kitchen floor needed to be replaced with vinyl tile. The kitchen wall and ceiling sheetrock needed to be finished and painted.

• A caller’s brother and 20-month-old son are both confined to a wheelchair. The son is paralyzed. An existing ramp needed to be replaced due to severe weather damage and rot. The 20-month-old child requires an oxygen tank, which is attached to the wheelchair. The ramp needed to be widened and relocated to the driveway.

• Two elderly women both needed assistance with wheelchair ramps. One woman simply needed a replacement ramp. Hers had rotted out and planks were missing, and it presented a risk every time she used it. The other woman had recently been widowed, was 90 percent disabled and dependent on oxygen.

Stellar Energy supports Builders Care by providing highly skilled labor to build wheelchair ramps and hand rails for elderly and disabled residents in need. The ramps are constructed in the company’s fabrication facility and then transported and installed to provide residents safe access to and from their homes.
“We work with a limited budget, and Builders Care can usually accomplish two ramps a month, along with four roof repairs,” Brown said. “This partnership with Stellar Energy has substantially increased our ability to respond.”

For information about how you or your company can partner with Builders Care to help provide safe, healthy housing for Jacksonville’s most vulnerable residents, call (904) 727-3443, or visit online at builderscare.org.