Ruth Greene’s home at 908 South Blvd. has finally received renovations that Greene has been awaiting for two years, just in time for her 80th birthday.
Emily Roush-Elliott, who works with Delta Design Build Workshop as an architect and served as the grant writer for this project, said Greene’s home received one of 22 emergency home repair grants Delta Design Build Workshop has completed this year.
Helen Greene, who helps care for her mother, said she is excited about all of the renovations done to the home.
“I’m very pleased,” she said. “They did a breaker box panel, repaired some decayed wood at the back of the house, and my brother was working on the bathroom, but (they) finished it up. I’m just happy we were able to get it done.”
Greene had been on the waiting list for Delta Design Build Workshop since 2019. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas approved her application this January after one application was rejected in 2020 and another was placed on a waiting list in 2021, Roush-Elliott said.
Delta Design Build worked with the family each year to prepare and submit applications to the bank, which provides funds through the Special Needs and Assistance Program (SNAP) for repairs on owner-occupied housing.
The first piece of work completed on the home was a patch repair for the ceiling in 2021.
Although the home was wait-listed at that time, Roush-Elliott said, those with the workshop wanted to complete the repair because it was time-sensitive. They were able to do so because of some private funding and the willingness of Cleotha Williams, a contractor based in Shaw, to do the work.
The rest of the repairs on Greene’s home came from the Fuller Center for Housing — a nonprofit based in Americus, Georgia — as well as private donations from church members and the Junior Auxiliary of Greenwood, SNAP funding and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her home is the only home of the 22 Delta Design Build Workshop has worked on this year to receive all four avenues of funding.
“We did a bunch of electrical work because that’s the top of safety issues and shored up part of the foundation that was saggy, then the bathroom,” Roush-Elliott said. “It was in really rough shape with some pipes exposed, so they redid really the entire bathroom. It has new flooring, paint and shower surround.
“They also filled the wall, got rid of some leaks and painted the entire thing. It’s a totally different bathroom, pretty much unrecognizable,” she said.
To her, the Greenes are the most important part of the project.
“It’s always an absolute joy to work with families like the Greenes,” she said. “I always feel super lucky to get to do this work because my work wouldn’t be possible without them. They’re more important than the money or us.”
Delta Design Build Workshop will begin working on applications for 2023 in October, to be submitted to the Federal Loan Bank of Dallas in January. Work on these projects should begin in March or April, Roush-Elliott said.
Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
