An Athens nonprofit is getting some assistance from a national organization to support its neighborhood revitalization efforts. Hands On Historic Athens has received $20,000 from Colorado-based NextFifty Initiative. Jody Graichen is Office Coordinator with Hands On Historic Athens.
“The NextFifty Initiative focuses on improving the lives of Senior Citizens,” Graichen said.
The organization assists low-income Athens-Clarke homeowners living in historic homes, or those built before 1971, with routine home repairs.
“Each project is really pretty low budget but the needs are very often, very great. We’re getting a lot of applications these days for making bathrooms more accessible. We’ve done a lot of porch repair work, and a lot of subfloor repair work.”
Last year, 95% of its clients were elderly and 44% very low-income households.
“With historic preservation generally comes some gentrification, and the thought was that a modest repair shouldn’t be what forces someone out of their home.”
For more information or to apply, visit Historic Athens.com or call 706-353-1801 for a paper application. Anyone wishing to volunteer can email Jody@historicAthens.com, or call the office.