NEW Program- A Brush With Kindness

A Brush With Kindness

This fall, Central Minnesota Habitat for Humanity will begin repairing homes in the St. Cloud area in partnership with qualified, low-income homeowners. The new home repair program, called A Brush with Kindness, is aimed at providing painting, landscaping, and minor repair services to low-income homeowners in need.

The homeowner must meet the qualifications for selection including demonstrated need (by meeting certain income criteria) , willingness to partner (by providing sweat equity in completing the project) and ability to pay (in some cases for part of the project costs, and in all cases to continue paying insurance, taxes and any remaining mortgage payments).

"A Brush with Kindness is part of Habitat for Humanity's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative-rolled out by the US Office to expand the programs and services available to people living in poverty. This initiative gives us a great opportunity to help more families in need, as well as have an impact on the entire neighborhood," said Bruce Johnson, Executive Director of CMHFH. "Helping people repair and maintain their homes fits in seamlessly with Habitat's core mission of partnering with the community to provide decent, affordable housing for families in need."

This fall, CMHFH hopes to assist four to six families in preserving the exterior quality of their homes. CMHFH is accepting applications from homeowners in the greater St. Cloud area only for the first round of projects. Homeowners in our four county service area can still apply, but will be put on hold until the program develops further.

The application deadline to be considered for this round of projects is June 30th, 2010. Applications are available on our website, or at our office. Each project is expected to take one - two days to complete, and will be undertaken with the help of businesses, faith communities, other organizations and community volunteers.