Local Non-Profit Helps Renovate Chapel Hill Homes

Two houses sit on each end of Lindsay Street in Chapel Hill. They couldn’t be more different. 326 Lindsay Street is stark white with a bright purple porch, and 314 Lindsay Street has a forest green roof, and brick accents. But as of Tuesday, the two houses have something in common. They’ve been renovated by Rebuilding Together.

Rebuilding Together of the Triangle (RTT), is a non-profit that works to renovate houses for residents who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it. On Monday, the organization began a two-day building project on the two houses, to fix things that could pose health risks to those who live there.

“We work with them to assess what their needs are, and to make sure that their home can be repaired or modified to meet their needs and to make sure that the house fits the person and that it’s a place that supports their health,” said Dan Sargent, Executive Director of RTT.

Sargent said many houses that RTT works on need things like new gutters, new carpets and a new ventilation system to clean the air that homeowners breathe. That is what they are doing for house 326.

“The homeowner’s elderly and has some breathing challenges,” Sargent said. “So we’re going to be sealing up the air and making sure the air that enters the home is safe to breathe for her.”

314 Lindsay Street is getting a new porch and a new rain gutter system. But the two building days are not all about the houses. They are also about training new AmeriCorps members from all over to serve homeowners and their respective communities. Amanda Nagler is serving with AmeriCorps for the next year. She said it has been a rewarding experience in Chapel Hill to meet and get to know the homeowner that Rebuilding Together and AmeriCorps are doing the renovations for.

“She’s just so cool,” she said. “And it’s fun like, hearing her tell us about the neighborhood and talk to us about how this is going to help out.”