Greater Prince William Housing Consortium Work to Restore a Foreclosed Home for Purchase by Low-Income Residents

On a chilly, rainy weekday evening, several area non-profit leaders and volunteers gather at a vacant, darkened and neglected Prince William County townhome in the Southbridge subdivision. Armed with flashlights and tape measures, these four persons – Jacob Koch and Peter Salemme from the Northern Virginia Fuller Center and Andrea Saccoccia and Bill Okuly from Project Mend-A-House – are about to spend an evening assessing the magnitude and dividing the responsibilities of required repairs and home makeovers of this foreclosed townhome. Their goal? To partner together to restore life to this townhome bought by Catholics for Housing that will be sold to a low-income family whose hopes and dreams of owning a home will also be restored.

"Our organizations are committed to making the dream of home ownership a reality for all residents, particularly low-income residents," stated Ms. Saccoccia. This unique partnership will enable us to do that, one home at a time."

This initial project serves as only a harbinger of greater, more ambitious things to come - to combine sponsorships and donations with volunteer labor to restore 25 homes in five days during the first week in July. Their goal is to raise $150,000 for materials and to bring together literally hundreds of volunteers – both organic and through partnerships with other non-profit, faith-based and civic organizations and local businesses – to make the American Dream of owning and maintaining a home a reality for 25 low-income families.

"Through the generosity of Northern Virginians willing to share their gifts of time, talent or treasure, we will succeed in this unique endeavor,” stated Mr. Koch. “Never has there been a time where coming together for those less fortunate than us is more important.”

Last year, five area non-profit organizations, Catholics for Housing, Dale City Volunteer Fire Department, Northern Virginia Fuller Center for Housing, Northern Virginia Family Services (SERVE) and Project Mend-A-House as well as representatives from government agencies, local elected officials, and lending and rehabilitation specialists formed the Greater Prince William Housing Consortium to apply for a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. NSP grant funds will be used for acquisition, rehabilitation and homeownership creation within specific neighborhoods experiencing high rates of foreclosure in Prince William County and Manassas. The Consortium received $1,500,000 and will complete eight housing units by September 2010 with this award.

Meanwhile back at the townhome, into the late hours of the evening, the assembled list of required repairs is almost complete – Project Mend-A-House volunteers will patch the drywall, repair the bathrooms and decking and replace floors and broken windows and remove junk, including the soda machine in the backyard. Fuller Center volunteers will replace the kitchen floors, countertops and insulation and paint the entire home. Their goal is to combine forces with other local faith-based and civic organizations, high schools and business partners to complete all repairs by mid-April. At that time, this neglected and vacant townhome will come alive when one very fortunate low-income family brings to life their hopes and dreams as they move in and take ownership of this home.

The Northern Virginia Fuller Center for Housing is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing worldwide. By forming partnerships with local organizations, The Fuller Center provides the structure, guidance and material support that communities need to build and repair homes for the impoverished among them. Project Mend-A-House is a volunteer-based organization founded in 1984 to allow the disabled, seniors and low-income residents of Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park to remain safely and independently in their own homes. For more information or if you are interested in serving as either a sponsor or volunteer for this unique program, please contact either Project Mend-A- House at 703-792-7663 or the Fuller Center at 571-225-6383.

The grants were awarded to 11 nonprofit organizations chosen out of the 34 that applied to receive a grant of $5,000 each. This was the sixth annual grantee celebration of the Giving Circle of HOPE, based in Reston, which was founded in 2004 to promote volunteerism and effective philanthropy.  Since its inception, the Giving Circle has awarded over $300,000 through the grant program.

Project Mend-A-House, a volunteer-based home repair and home modification program for seniors, disabled and low-income residents of Prince William County and Manassas, plans to use the grant funds to expand its lending closet for durable medical equipment. “During the past few years, there has been an increasing need for portable ramps to accommodate persons with disabilities. We are grateful to the Giving Circle of HOPE for helping us achieve our goals of providing accessibility to our clients,” said Andrea Saccoccia, executive director (pictured center right).