Volunteers work to protect Cedar Rapids’ affordable housing

CEDAR RAPIDS — Vera Klein has lived in her home in the northwest quadrant of Cedar Rapids for nearly 49 years — raising five kids, spending many holidays and fixing it up after natural disasters. Inside, she’s decorated with butterflies, a symbol of hope.

But recently, Klein, 75, feared tripping over a 2-inch gap between her bathroom and bedroom. She’s on a fixed income, living on what she earns through Social Security and Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System, so she was relieved to receive information in the mail about nonprofit Matthew 25’s Transform Week — an offer to help residents with home repair projects they’re unable to complete themselves.

“This has been a worry of mine and I prayed about it,” Klein said. “I want to stay in my house as long as I can. … What's neat about Matthew 25 is they can help people older people to stay in their homes longer if they want to. And I do. There's a lot of memories here.”

In the eighth annual Transform Week, organized by Matthew 25, over 200 volunteers united to give a boost to homeowners in the Taylor and Time Check neighborhoods by assisting with home repairs and maintenance. Volunteers took on more than 30 projects ranging from exterior painting to yard work, window installation and building new porches.

With aging housing stock throughout Linn County and Iowa, this initiative is one step toward keeping residential units in good shape and on the market at a time when demand for housing is high but supply is insufficient to support a growing population.

Low-income homeowners in these areas receive free home repair and maintenance as Matthew 25’s work is supported by volunteers, sponsorships and grants. Volunteers are matched to projects based on their skillsets. Transform Week, which ended Friday, accepted applications from property owners in the neighborhood who earn up to a maximum income — starting at $50,050 for a one-person household.

Klein said her deck was in bad shape but was getting fixed, helping improve her back steps that posed a tripping hazard. She has a bad left knee, so volunteers put another railing in her basement to give her something else to hang onto. And now she has a transition step between her bedroom and bathroom area.

This all makes it easier for her to stay in her home where she knows her neighbors and is able to keep going to her church that’s right in the neighborhood.

Noting the lack of affordable housing nationally, Matthew 25 Executive Director Clint Twedt-Ball said in a statement that most homeowners participating in Transform Week live on less than $30,000 per year — often elderly residents who are on a fixed income, or those who have experienced a medical, relationship or job challenge that hinders their ability to maintain their home.

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“If homes go long enough without repairs, we lose them from our affordable housing stock,” Twedt-Ball said. “Transform Week pulls people together to help our neighbors preserve the precious little affordable housing we have. It allows everyone to be a part of the solution to the housing crisis.”

After the hurricane-force wind gusts of the 2020 derecho left many homeowners grappling with damage, the organization’s focus during this week in recent years has been on helping residents fix up their storm-damaged properties.

This year, volunteer coordinator Jessica Bolten said the focus turned back to typical home repairs and maintenance projects for those who face barriers to taking on the projects themselves. Capacity has grown each year to do more projects during Transform Week, she said, and winding down from recovery projects has helped Matthew 25 build the program even more.

“Some folks just have really struggled to get help and we try to reach as many folks as possible,” Bolten said. “And obviously a lot of the people who were impacted by the derecho, a lot of them were already struggling due to financial constraints or other circumstances, and that really exacerbated it. So we're really trying to look at the root causes of housing insecurity.”

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Moreover, with homelessness on the rise in Linn County, Bolten said Matthew 25 sees housing being a huge need in the community and is looking to support access to safe, stable housing. She said the increasing cost of housing has compounded the challenges residents already face such as being a single parent trying to take care of their children or having a physical disability.

“Even if you're someone who's working and doing everything right, people still need help,” Bolten said.

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