Since 2001, Builders Care has been committed to helping repair and restore failing homes to citizens who lack the resources to maintain safe, healthy residences.
Many of Builders Care’s clients are elderly homeowners, some are disabled, some have suffered catastrophic illnesses and some are a combination of several debilitating factors.
Recently, Builders Care received a telephone call from Sonja Miller. She said the shingles on the roof on the front corner of her home had buckled and they had been bad for a couple of years.
The home had belonged to her mother. Miller had moved in with her mother before she passed away in 2010.
After her mother died, Miller discovered the house was three years behind in property taxes. And the home was not insured.
She decided to catch up on the taxes before tackling any delayed maintenance issues.
“Sonja called us and she didn’t know where to turn,” said Justin Brown, Builders Care executive director. “She had just finished paying off the back taxes, and without insurance, she had no resources to fix the roof. But that’s what we do and Sonja needed our help.”
Miller, 55, lives alone in the house. A spinal cord injury left her on disability, which is less than $1,000 to cover her out-of-pocket expenses, such as groceries, utilities and the necessities of life.
There was little to no room in her budget for home repairs, certainly not major, costly repairs.
“Sonja is a very independent woman,” Brown said. “She wants to pay her own way and she was so very grateful for our help, that she’s paying it forward. She is making monthly payments to Builders Care so we can put those resources to work on another project.”
Builders Care is a not-for-profit, charitable arm of the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
Its mission is to help eradicate substandard housing in Northeast Florida and restore housing units to a safe, healthy environments for their inhabitants.
Volunteers and contributions are welcome and needed. Call (904) 727-3443 to help or request help.