The majority of people kick off their relationship with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity with an informational meeting and an application, but some are chosen in different ways.
Gene recalls sitting on her porch while her hedges were being trimmed when a woman approached her with an incredible opportunity.
Earlier that summer, the house across the street from Gene’s was torn down and all the dust and debris blew across the street onto Gene’s home. After the dirt covered Gene’s home Atlanta had a rainy summer causing the house to mildew and making it hard for her to hire someone to clean up her home.
The mystery woman that approached Gene on that fateful day offered to clean off and repaint her home for free.
“It’s a nice thing,” Gene began. “I’ve heard of them doing things for people in certain neighborhoods and (the mystery woman) said I was chosen. I was taken aback when she said that.”
Gene believed she was chosen because she happened to be on her porch that day, but she was chosen long before.
Her house was chosen through the Westside Future Fund, another philanthropic organization that aims to tackle the Atlanta housing crisis. They focus on four Atlanta neighborhoods facing some of the greatest needs: English Avenue, Vine City, Ashview Heights and the Atlanta University Center.
Westside Future Fund has an independent selection process for the homes they serve then pass the home along to Atlanta Habitat for rehabilitation. In this case, Gene’s home qualified for Atlanta Habitat’s Brush with Kindness program.
Brush with Kindness is a program Atlanta Habitat started a few years ago to keep people in their homes a little longer. The program looks for homeowners who have been in their homes for at least ten years and are up to date on their payments.
The Brush with Kindness program supplies more than a cosmetic fix to your home. If you don’t paint your house within ten years, it can begin to rot.
“The program is really just out here to help,” Carolann Collins, Former Brush with Kindness coordinator, explained. “It really works as a catalyst because when we come out, we see that a lot of the houses around the neighborhood will start to paint their house as well. They want to give their house a facelift to keep up with the houses we come out and paint”
Not only has Gene been maintaining her home since retiring from Atlanta Public Schools (APS) in 1989, but she is also conveniently placed in the Westend. After being told she was chosen, Gene still didn’t quite know what to expect.
She knew to expect someone on Saturday morning but did not expect the team of about 25 volunteers from the Arther M. Blank Family Foundation to come out and paint her home. After the power wash that cleaned off the dirt and debris, Gene gushed at how different her home already looked.
The volunteers followed up by painting two coats for fresh paint on the home and were finished by late afternoon.
“This is something I have seen on television,” Gene said. “I have seen the people so excited when they came but I never dreamed it would happen to me.”
