Julie Flemming has called the Cully neighborhood home for the past 16 years, after purchasing her home in 2002 following a divorce. She loves her neighborhood and spends her free time gardening and working on projects around her home. Over time, she made some upgrades to her kitchen, visiting the Portland ReStore for supplies. She did a lot of the work on her own.
After 14 years working as an educational assistant, Julie pursued an Orton-Gillingham certification to tutor children with dyslexia. Occasionally, she works with children in her home and they often take breaks and play in her backyard. One of the large old trees in her yard had several broken branches hanging down, with the potential to cause a safety hazard.
Julie worked hard to maintain her home but there were some repairs that she couldn’t afford or do on her own. Through the Habitat for Humanity Home Repair and Preservation program Julie was able to have the large overgrown tree in her yard trimmed, damaged storm windows replaced, and new gutters installed. “Without the Home Repair program I would have had to put some stuff on credit cards, which I really didn’t want to do, or it would just have to be put off, “ said Julie.
The Home Repair and Preservation Program helps homeowners with low incomes located in Cully restore and maintain their homes. Habitat partners with homeowners to assist with health and safety issues and complete needed home improvement projects. This program is part of the Neighborhood Revitalization program’s long-term commitment to working in partnership with Cully residents and nonprofit partners to prevent the displacement of current homeowners and create a shared vision of revitalizing Cully.
“Being a homeowner is one of the most important things I’ve done. It has helped me build equity. It’s a privilege and gives me a big sense of pride,” says Julie. Julie was so happy with her Habitat partnership that she plans to suggest the Home Repair and Preservation program to all her neighbors. “This program gives people an opportunity to have repairs done affordably. It creates goodwill in the neighborhood and it’s nice to know someones is there to help.