This organization is designed to “empower” the community, so that its members will eventually become self-supporting, contributing members of society. One other major component of Phase II of our operation includes providing housing education and housing rehabilitation services, designed to rebuild our inner city. Housing rehabilitation will consist of 20 percent of this organization’s time and resources. Just like Habitat for Humanity, we are involving our organization in repairing the homes of the elderly and needy, done by volunteers, who do not have the financial ability to make repairs to their homes.
Many of our elderly are sitting in substandard homes, where it is currently raining on them as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and they are helpless to change this situation for lack of funds. We are currently researching federal funding opportunities which will enable us to purchase blighted properties, rehabilitate them and return them to the poor who have lived in the community for many years. Workshops will be provided on alcohol abuse, AIDS education, gambling, domestic violence, etc., with counseling services provided by volunteer clergy persons in the community.