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Goodhearted Neighbors Help with Home Repairs

For their ninth year, nearly 20 volunteers from St. John Bosco Parish rolled up their sleeves for a local family in need of home repairs on Sept. 14. Weeks of planning culminated in life-changing repairs for an older Branford veteran and his sister. This year, HomeFront also celebrates its 25th year of partnering with the Office of Catholic Social Justice Ministry for the Archdiocese if Hartford. St. John Bosco is one of more than 20 parishes that fielded home repair volunteers through the archdiocese this year.

St. John Bosco volunteers are in solidarity with more than 1,700 goodhearted neighbors who have taken part in HomeFront’s 2019 season, a local tradition that helps low-income homeowners including many older adults on fixed incomes, disabled residents, single parents struggling to make ends meet, and families in transitional crisis. This year’s efforts have directly benefited more than 50 families throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. The free repairs allow homeowners with financial and, often, physical limitations to remain in their homes with an improved quality of life.

By the end of the day, Branford volunteers replaced 20 drafty windows, added fresh coats of paint, installed a new hot water heater, overhauled a dilapidated bathroom, and assisted in a basement cleanout.

The scope of improvements made by members of St. John Bosco parishioners far exceeds a typical HomeFront project thanks to the volunteers and support from The Home Depot Foundation (THDF). Sept. 14’s effort in Branford also marks the eighth of 10 local low-income veteran projects funded by THDF this year in partnership with HomeFront.

Since 1988, HomeFront volunteers have repaired more than 3,100 properties for neighbors in need, injecting improvements valued at roughly $50 million into the community. Saturday, Nov. 16is the deadline for low-income homeowners to apply for help during HomeFront’s 2019 season. For more information on how to get involved or how to apply to HomeFront for help, call 800-887-HOPE or visit www.homefrontprogram.org.