East Cooper Faith Network Fix It! Humble Beginning
When George Roberts became the Director of East Cooper Meals on Wheels (ECMOW) in 2012, he began hearing from volunteer drivers about health, safety and security issues at some of the homes where meals were delivered. Things like rotten porch floors, entrance doors that couldn’t be locked, homeowners in wheelchairs or on walkers without ramps access, things that some homeowner was unable to take care of themselves. He talked with his counterparts at East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO) and East Cooper Habitat for Humanity (HfH) and together they determined no one was offering simple, no cost repairs for these situations. The directors of these three agencies (ECMOW, ECCO, HfH) wrote a letter to the East Cooper Faith Network (ECFN) requesting assistance.
ECFN studied the issue and scheduled a well-publicized public forum in the spring of 2012 at Hibben Methodist to seek broader input and cast about for a structured solution. Out of that public forum a core group of 5 churches and two partners began meeting monthly to review needs and work toward “fixit” solutions. In the first year, through this cooperative effort of volunteer labor and discounted materials, 5 new ramps were built and 8 homes repaired to meet health, safety and security standards. In this growing initiative there are currently: 8 churches actively involved; 4 partner agencies and 3 material suppliers.
By Al Jenkins