Church members fix up homes for residents who can no longer do the work themselves

At one of the homes, volunteers painted the exterior and
interior, did some yardwork, and installed grab bars, smoke detectors, and a
new dryer vent. 

The homeowners, Nu Hua and her husband Sun Hua, had lived
there for 37 years. Sun Hua, a retired restaurant worker, had a stroke a few
years ago and could no longer take care of the house.

The couple arrived in the United States in 1977 after
escaping from their home in Saigon via boat and spending 11 months in a refugee
camp in Thailand, said Nu Hua.

ACCA is a coalition of local churches that carries out
community service projects. Members of St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church,
Annandale United Methodist Church, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints—Annandale Ward worked on the Hua’s home under the direction of house
captain Ken Mittleholtz. Lincolnia Methodist Church provided lunch and snacks
for the volunteers.

The other home fixed up during ACCA’s Rebuilding Together event was a
group home for three formerly homeless adult men with mental disabilities in
the Alexandria area. 

Volunteers installed a French drain in the front yard to
mitigate drainage problems, repaired the access ramp at the front door,
fixed and painted an outdoor picnic table, painted the kitchen and bathroom,
installed a new toilet and grab bars in the bathroom, and did some
decluttering.

Volunteers from John Calvin Presbyterian Church, Providence
Presbyterian Church, and Ravensworth Baptist Church worked on that house. Queen
of Apostles Catholic Church brought the food. Brian Meli was the house captain.

The house is owned and operated by Pathways Homes, a
Fairfax-based organization that provides housing and support services for adults
with a history of homelessness or substance abuse, mental illness, and/or intellectual
disabilities.

The organization owns or leases 338 homes in Northern
Virginia serving 1,241 people, says Caroline Moyer, marketing and events
coordinator with Pathways. The housing assistance is permanent; residents can
stay as long as they want. They pay rent subsidized by Pathways.

The Rebuilding Together program tackles two houses every
year on a Saturday in April.

The program fixed up 120 houses in the past 30 years, says
Marie Monsen, a former ACCA president who started the program in 1990.

Rebuilding Together “really builds community, by bringing
many people and churches together,” says Monsen. “Homeowners feel that people
care about them, and it allows seniors to stay in their homes.”

ACCA started an offshoot of the program last year, called
Rebuilding Express, in which six to eight volunteers carry out small repairs on
three to four houses during the year, such as putting in grab bars and energy-efficient
lighting.