by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Some of the elderly people helped by the Builders Care program live all alone and the visits from Bill Wilson, executive director of Builders Care, are sometimes the only visits they get.
As Wilson approaches John and Dorothy Mullaly’s house in Murray Hill, the welcome is warm complete with hugs, offers of coffee and even lunch.
Married 54 years, the Mullaly’s are survivors. John is blind and Dorothy is in a wheelchair and still, they feel blessed.
The Mullalys receive food from Meals on Wheels, which helped save the house they had lived in for 30 years from falling down around them.
One time during a Meals on Wheels visit, the delivery person told her it was going to rain.
“I told her, ‘Well, I guess I better find me a dry spot’,” said Dorothy. “She asked me, ‘Does your house leak?’ and I told her ‘No, it pours.’ and she said ‘Well, I’m going call Bill.”
Wilson was called and now the Mullalys have a new tile floor, new roof, repaired ceilings and improved bathrooms and entryways.
“The Lord sent them here,” said Dorothy. “This ceiling [indicating the kitchen ceiling] was dropped down here and they put it back up. They also fixed my bedroom ceiling. They put new tile on the floor, a new roof on my house, higher commodes in for me and fixed the bathroom so I could get in and out easier.”
The Builders Care program, which started last October, is more than just a builder program; it’s a ministry that helps out all over Jacksonville, but primarily downtown.
“This is a ministry,” said Wilson. “It’s a holistic approach. You can’t just fix some old lady’s house and walk off with her not being able to pay her JEA bill or get a ride to JEA.”
As executive director of the company, more and more of Wilson’s time is spent fundraising, organization items and overseeing meetings.
“This is a ministry to me and we have some very good people running it who make sure I get to the right places so I can recharge by being with the right people,” said Wilson.
Wilson was the project director of the 100-house Habijax build last year. After the event, Wilson didn’t want to stop there. Builders Care evolved from a company called Habitat Resources that Bill Wilson started.
“When we got through with the 100-house build, I thought, ‘Well, what do we want to do next?’ I said, let’s tackle substandard housing in the elderly. We started another company called Habitat Resources which was under Habijax’s control. Last summer I wanted to really formalize our relationship with NEFBA, so I went to Habijax and asked that they give it NEFBA.”
They agreed to give it to NEFBA, and Builders Care, Inc. was born.
Referrals for the program come from Meals on Wheels, Legal Aide, the city’s Code Enforcement agency, I. M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, Clara White Mission and more.
“We try to take referrals from these agencies, that way we know they are pretty real,” said Wilson.
To help choose which elderly people would receive help from Builders Care, a Builders Care Selection Committee was formed.
Mary Kay O’Rourke of Habijax is the chairperson. The other members are City Council Member Pat Lockett-Felder; Peggy West, JEA; Joan Turner, Adult Services program manager for the City of Jacksonville; Lewis Albertie, pastor of Jesus Place Ministries; Joe Meux, Legal Aid; and Shirley Lother, Betty Blodgett, Wilson, Robin Wilson, Chris Simons and Cindy Vartanian of Builders Care, Inc.
They attach a rating from zero to 10 to each referral and work in the order of the most needed.
Funds for the program come primarily from the Duval County Housing Finance Authority.
“They gave us $700,000 to start it last year and have committed to give $1.2 million this year,” said Wilson. “Our job is to leverage that money. Leverage is an important word. By city government mandate, one of the legitimate functions of the government is to make sure people have housing.
Basically, it’s called subsidized housing or affordable housing. Traditionally, there are companies out there that are money brokers, if you will, that give money to for-profit contractors that are making money, but you get less for your money than you would if you gave it to a non-profit trade association that is acting as a contractor and represents 1,600 members.