Shelter from the storm: Volunteers repair Washington County homes ahead of cold-weather fixes
Courtesy / Maine Seacoast Mission
Scores of volunteers come from as far as Ohio to paint, repair roofs, add stairs and ramps, and fix doors and windows in preparation for weatherization improvements.
Maine Seacoast Mission, headquartered in Northeast Harbor with offices in Cherryfield, carried out a housing rehabilitation program in recent months that helped 14 homeowners and two community organizations perform repairs and upgrades to their buildings.
The program brought 182 volunteers from Ohio, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and southern Maine to Cherryfield who logged 6,142 hours of community service.
Their support is the cornerstone of the program, said the mission’s president, John Zavodny.
Ten of the houses are now ready to be weatherized by the mission’s partner organization, Downeast Community Partners.
Partnership with a purpose
The rehab program, which was put on the back burner for two years, focuses on Washington County and draws scores of applicants each year, according to a news release.
Assessments of the projects are conducted in the spring, when Scott Shaw, the mission’s Cherryfield housing rehabilitation manager, and energy auditors from Downeast Community Partners’ housing department visit each house to assess how both organizations can help.
Downeast Community Partners has access to weatherization funds from the U.S. Department of Energy, but homes must be in good structural repair before they can be rehabbed against cold Maine winters, which is where the mission steps in to make the necessary repairs.
“The partnership between Downeast Community Partners and Maine Seacoast Mission represents the mutual commitment to serve and enable homeowners in Washington County to receive critical home repairs and weatherization and to safely remain in their homes,” said Rebecca Palmer, Downeast Community Partners’ executive director .
Based on what work is needed and the skills of volunteers, Shaw determines which homeowners would benefit most from the program, focusing on those that need improvements to qualify for DCP’s weatherization program.
Because of a long-running relationship with groups that volunteer year after year, Shaw knows the talents each group brings, and which houses match their skill sets.
“When deciding which homes could benefit from housing rehab, we identify the problems and then match those to volunteers that we know of,” Shaw said.
Volunteers start work around Memorial Day weekend and groups continue to come until the end of August. During that time, volunteers paint houses, repair roofs, build stairs and ramps, fix doors and windows, and more. After the work is finished, DCP uses the latest weatherization techniques to focus on indoor air quality and the reduction of heat loss in order to achieve a more cost-efficient, energy-efficient home.
The mission was able to complete projects with a friends-and-family model during the past two years, but the return of the large number of volunteers from away allowed the organization to take on more projects this past summer. Shaw said he hopes the number of volunteers will be back to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
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