PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Robert Shell sat outside his home on the 3200 block of Randolph Street Friday while three volunteers put down new flooring over the old, worn boards from his childhood home he moved back to after his mother died.
“You know, you always try to keep as much of your mother’s stuff as you can. That’s why I didn’t make a lot of changes. I felt like it was honoring her,” he said.
Shell’s home is one of 40 in Strawberry Mansion that Rebuilding Together Philadelphia plans to repair this year.
Another resident on that block, Jsrael Kahn, got plumbing and electrical work done, and flooring and sheetrock replaced.
“This is a good program. I was very happy about it, Kahn said.
Rebuilding Together President Stefanie Seldin says the nonprofit repairs blocks one at a time to have a bigger impact.
“After Rebuilding Together Philadelphia leaves a block, we see homeowners taking care of the blocks, doing more landscaping, helping their neighbors,” Seldin said.
The nonprofit has repaired 2100 homes in Philadelphia over the last 36 years. They work closely with established community groups to choose the block.
Tonnetta Graham of the Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation says neighbors can be suspicious because of “a lot of predatory practices that have taken place in [their] neighborhoods.”
The first people who realized the aging housing stock here needed repairs were grifters who’d offer repairs on credit at outrageous interest rates and seize homes if the owner fell behind.
Now, a growing number of government programs are offering repairs, recognizing that the most affordable home for someone is the one they already live in. This block shows the promise and the challenge. In the middle of the spruced-up homes is one abandoned house with an L&I notice pasted to the door warning that it’s an imminent danger.