Neighborhood Strong is a community-based organizations serving nine East Texas Counties. They provide critical home repairs and accessibility modifications to low and very low-income homeowners. Over 57% of the homes in this area are over 40 years old. The poverty rate is just over 19%. The combination of poverty rate and age of homes in leads to homes often becoming unsafe and even unlivable for homeowners and their families. The efforts of Neighborhood Strong help prevent homelessness, rehouse homeowners who have been forced to leave their home due to its unhealthy/unlivable state, and increase a homeowner’s ability to Age in Place. Many of the homes they repair have been in the family for multiple generations. These completing critical repairs will have a positive impact future generations as well.

The Housing Preservation Grant funds have had a significant impact on Neighborhood Strong’s ability to further expand their work into the 8 counties that surround Angelina County. Jennifer Lawrence, Executive Director states “We find that often the more rural a home, the more need the home has for extensive critical repairs. USDA funds have allowed us to address rural home issues in a more significant way than we could do prior.”

In late 2023, Neighborhood Strong had the privilege of completing critical home repairs and ADA modifications for a senior, disabled, Vietnam veteran homeowner. The homeowner had been living alone in his home for over a year without an accessible bathroom. Specifically, he could not enter the bathroom in his required wheelchair due to the doorway width, and none of the spacing or fixtures were accommodating to his disability. As a result, he used a garden hose in his yard in place of a bath/shower unit and toilet. Neighborhood Strong, in partnership with homeowner input, used a licensed ADA contractor to build an ADA accessible bathroom as a priority critical need repair/accommodation. To do so safely, the foundation had to be stabilized and the roof replaced due to their poor condition.

Neighborhood Strong is currently working on completing the remaining critical needs in the home to make the home fully ADA accessible and safe for the homeowner. This work includes an ADA accessible kitchen and appliances, ADA compliant door widths and hardware, floor repairs for safe wheelchair use, wheelchair ramp repair and more.

Lawrence states “the positive physical, mental, and social impacts on the homeowner as work has progressed on his home have been significant to witness. Once work on the home is complete, the homeowner will have full use of his home and the ability to Age in Place if he so desires.”