Volunteers help renovate home in East Hartford

Collin Atwood, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Oct. 14—EAST HARTFORD — Winter is coming, prices are rising, and houses need fixing. That's why local volunteers provided a helping hand to an East Hartford woman who can no longer maintain her house on her own.

The homeowner, Geraldine Fitzgerald, 80, had overgrown trees, a busted ramp, and shingles that needed replacing when HomeFront Inc., a non-profit home repair organization, reached out to her.

HomeFront volunteers helped Fitzgerald about five years ago by painting her ceiling and doing yard work. On Oct. 8, more volunteers returned to her home on South Prospect Street to fix things up a bit more.

"It was absolutely miraculous," Fitzgerald said. "They're good people who enjoy what they're doing."

HomeFront provides free repairs to low-income people who can't physically do the work.

A high percentage of their applicants are veterans and people with disabilities, mostly living in single-family homes, said Sean O'Brien, the Stamford-based organization's executive director.

HomeFront serves Fairfield, Hartford, and New Haven counties in Connecticut and Westchester County, New York.

Some 1,500 volunteers work with HomeFront each a year. Twenty-five of them worked on Fitzgerald's property, all from the St. Edmund Campion Catholic Parish in East Hartford.

"All of our volunteers are like gold to us," O'Brien said.

Before it's time to repair a house, people from the group visit the applicant's residence to develop a list of the most pressing needs.

"The needs that she had were a really good fit with the skills of this group," O'Brien said.

HomeFront volunteers trimmed trees in Fitzgerald's yard, replaced poor lighting, repaired shingles and siding, and provided a new and improved ramp.

Fitzgerald uses a wheelchair, so when O'Brien noticed the condition of her ramp he knew that repairing it should be a priority.

"That's something that really gets your attention," he said.

Fitzgerald has lived in her home for about 30 years. She said her house and yard started to get out of control when COVID-19 hit.

She is also bedridden, making it nearly impossible to do the chores around the house.

HomeFront is great for people who need physical help, and the group also looks for people who are struggling financially.

"The average income of someone we help is $28,000," O'Brien said.

Since it opened in 1988, HomeFront says, it has delivered more than $50 million of services at 3,100 homes.

The recent repairs at Fitzgerald's house concluded the organization's third annual Fall HomeFront Days. From Sept. 10 to Oct. 8, around 14 teams of volunteers helped people in 13 Connecticut municipalities prepare for winter and overcome the fears of inflation.

"There's so much bad going on in the world, and these wonderful people gave me their own time," Fitzgerald said.

Collin covers South Windsor and East Hartford for the Journal Inquirer.