Building Healthy Neighborhoods

While we’re getting set to move the clocks back this fall, Charter our Community continues to move forward this October on its cross-country drive to improve homes and build healthy neighborhoods. Our employees are partnering with five Rebuilding Together affiliates to make critical repairs to multiple homes in cities including Denver, Louisville and St. Louis.

Keep reading to learn about the emotional stories of the homeowners impacted by Charter our Community. Remember, you can always take action and help us reach our goal, as well as apply for home renovation assistance.

 

St. Louis: Building a Healthy Neighborhood

On Columbus Day weekend, Charter our Community will join other corporate and community partners for Rebuilding Together’s fifth annual Building a Healthy Neighborhood, a three-day community revitalization event. Building on Charter’s long-standing partnership with Rebuilding Together St. Louis, our volunteers will be working on three homes in St. John, a small community in St. Louis county. Each homeowner has a unique and inspiring story, and we are delighted to provide them a helping hand next month.

St. Louis homeowner Carl

 

Carl is a former forklift driver, who bought his home in 1989 using a first-time homebuyers loan. Due to a childhood illness, he was left with limited mobility.

One of the biggest challenges facing Carl today is his defective house electrical system. Volunteers will make essential electrical and plumbing repairs to his home.

 

St. Louis homeowner Joe

Joe feels comfortable in St. John, and has lived in the community most of his life. Joe also recently began providing around-the-clock care and support for his mother.

Joe’s biggest challenge in his home is the bathroom, due to aging plumbing and fixtures. Volunteers will completely renovate the bathroom, providing critical repairs and updates.

 

St. Louis homeowner Denise

Denise (“Deni”) enjoys making repairs to her home, but her income restricts the amount of repairs she can take of herself. Volunteers will help complete several critical repairs, including fixing the kitchen plumbing, adding a handrail to the front porch for increased accessibility and other general improvements. These repairs will give Deni more independence in her home.

 

As part of Building a Healthy Neighborhood, Charter our Community is conducting an employee tool drive. The drive is open to Charter Communications employees throughout Missouri and Illinois. The donated tools and equipment will be used by volunteers renovating homes during the Building a Healthy Neighborhood event.

Louisville, Kentucky homeowner Juanita

 

Louisville: Rebuilding in the Bluegrass State

Juanita is a vibrant 61-year-old and a lifelong resident of Kentucky who currently lives in the West Louisville neighborhood. She bought her home ten years ago and loves her community.

Juanita loves to spend time with her family and explore what Louisville has to offer. Her youngest grandchild, P.J., spends evenings with her and she takes him to school in the morning. Juanita also loves to sit on her porch and watch her neighbors and other passersby walk past her home.

Her home needs several critical repairs and accessibility modifications. One of Juanita’s biggest fears is falling in the bathroom. Charter our Community volunteers from our Louisville call center and Rebuilding Together Dayton will remove and replace existing flooring, install a more accessible bathtub, install grab bars.

Denver homeowners Beverly and Thomas

 

Denver: Recovering After Flooding

Following the success of our summer Denver rebuilding projects, Charter our Community returns to the mile high city. Beverly and Thomas have been members of the greater Denver community for more than 40 years. High school sweethearts, the couple raised four children and now enjoy spending time with their 15 grandchildren.

In September 2013, Beverly and Thomas were just two of nearly 18,000 homeowners whose homes were badly damaged by heavy rains and record breaking floods across nearly 2,000 square miles of Colorado. A large section of their living room ceiling caved in and water flooded the entire area and soaked through to the rooms below.

It took nearly six months to find someone who would patch the roof at a price they could afford, but other damage has taken longer to repair. The old insulation, riddled with asbestos, was removed but never replaced.

Drywall was hung but never finished. And the roof was poorly patched and is leaking again.

Charter our Community will work with Rebuilding Together Metro Denver to help make Beverly and Thomas’s home safer, healthier and dryer before the Rocky Mountain winter comes.

Be sure to check back in a few weeks to see the results of Building a Healthy Neighborhood, as well as our Louisville and Denver projects.