We have all felt the pain of supply shortages and price hikes over the past two years.
For Lauren Sullivan, executive director of Rebuilding Together OKC, those frustrations were 100 fold.
Rebuilding Together OKC’s mission is to make much needed safety modifications and home repairs for Oklahoma County residents 55 and older. There are hundreds of neighbors across their service area with homes that need assistance.
“We used to be able to replace a roof for about $8,000. Now it’s averaging between $12,000 to $14,000,” Lauren said. “It takes 8 to 12 weeks to get windows. With the extended time to get materials, we cannot complete as many projects at once.”
And many of the projects for which they once relied on volunteers, they now use contractors.
“I can’t tell a volunteer group that is ready to serve that they have to be on call for three months while we wait to gather supplies,” Lauren explained.
These challenges, Lauren said, make funding from places such as FHLBank Topeka even more important. Her organization in partnership with MidFirst Bank received a $1 million grant from the Affordable Housing Program in 2019 and a $660,000 grant in 2015.
Cindy Randolph, who serves as a First AVP in MidFirst’s Community Reinvestment department, is a former board member at Rebuilding Together OKC. She knows the importance of finding funding to help their mission.
“My side is trying to find additional resources,” Cindy said. “MidFirst’s membership with FHLBank gives them one more resource for their services. These rehabs would not take place without FHLBank Topeka.”
The AHP money is being used to rehab more than 200 houses that are owned by seniors 55 and older living at or below 50% of the area median income. The repairs include ADA compliant bathroom remodels, roofs, windows and other maintenance the owners can’t complete or afford.
“These are multi-generational homes. They own it, and they want to be able to pass it on to their family,” Lauren said. “They want to stay in their homes. Our mission is to keep them safe, warm and dry.”
The AHP money is helping them do just that.
“It has done so much for our community,” she said. “We are very grateful.”
