CLEARLAKE >> Habitat for Humanity, renowned almost since its inception as the nonprofit that builds affordable housing, has in the last few years worn a new hat, that of home repair.
For many years the nonprofit has drawn numerous inquiries about how homeowners could obtain low-cost repairs, and those asking were informed no such service existed under the Habitat roof. Though the demand was there, the means did not exist until Habitat obtained the ability to raise funds for such an enterprise, but once a funding vehicle was established in 2011, the Brush of Kindness program was initiated.
Tammy Brigham, administrator for the city of Lakeport Habitat arrived in 2009 from Colorado. Although having no prior experience as a grant writer, Brigham was a professional writer and swiftly managed to attract the leverage to support doing the kind of repairs many in Lake County were in need of, especially because of its substantial elderly population. “A lot (clientele) were past 60 and had limited resources and the average repair was $9,000,” Brigham said.
However, there were requirements for qualification. Applicants had to have owned the house (proof of homeowner taxes or deed) for at least three years, be low income (varies between individual states and the federal government and submit documents showing they had no other home or assets to draw upon. Most repairs deal with heating and ventilating and air conditioning, wheelchair ramps. Yet some repairs have amounted to $25,000. With a repair crew of three and a handful of support staff major contracts like roof replacement or plumbing that may involve property well repair, had to be subcontract out.
But this branch of Habitat did receive, last October/November a $600,000 grant covering two years. “We don’t do cosmetic stuff; painting or landscaping,” Brigham said. “Our funding is from donations, USDA, CalHome program (oversight by California Housing and Community Development). “We’d like to help everybody in the county but need more donations and grants.”
Yet Habitat built 380 homes in the county since its inception here. Brigham said they average about 20 to 30 home repairs per year with the Brush of Kindness program and repaired 14 homes in 2024. “That’s because we got just three guys to do repairs and they also do manufactured homes.” she said. “We have two part-timers, two full timers, a volunteer director and a construction consultant who receives a fee, a retired electrician.
They also help military veterans who meet the low-income requirements. Home Depot also had a program for vets but that has since expired. HVAC is Habitat’s most requested repair, but roof repair is the most expensive, in the $35,000 range noted Brigham, but those jobs are usually subcontracted out because their repair crew is so small.
Numerous clients live on Social Security or disability funds. “But we have clients earning as little as $600 a month, I don’t know how they make their electricity for that amount,” she said. Despite some of the challenges, Brigham remains on the job after 15 years because she enjoys helping people in need … single parents, who lack home repair skills. “It can be heart breaking, especially when we can’t help someone, yet it is rewarding when we see how much the clients appreciate the work we complete,” she said. Prior to accepting a contract, there is a review of a household’s annual income. We might ask for a monthly payment,” she said. “So, if it is a $10,000 contract, we could for example, ask a client to pay a $1,000 of the full amount and then pay $25 per month for the next five or six years. And we wouldn’t put any liens on the house. It is a good faith loan.”
