Nadine’s story is one the Home Repairs team hears far too often.
She knew her home needed repairs, but as a woman living alone and struggling to find a steady job, she didn’t have the financial means to repair them. These repairs continued to pile up.
“The smoke detector was open with raw wire, and it had been like that since [around 2020],” Nadine explained. “A chandelier was also open and raw wire was there for a while.”
In addition to the electrical hazards, Nadine shared that her exterior door wasn’t sealed properly.
“The cold would blow through my back door, and you could feel it blowing on your feet,” she said.
But one of the most important repairs Nadine needed was to her downstairs bathroom.
“I couldn’t use my downstairs bathroom for over a year. I would tape the toilet seat to make sure that if I had guests that they wouldn’t use it,” she said.
Nadine turned to North Fulton Community Charities for help when the needed repairs overwhelmed her.
“They gave me a packet with resources and that’s how I found [Home Repairs Ministries],” Nadine said.
NFCC’s partnership with Home Repairs began before Heather Loveridge took over as executive director.
Heather met Sandy Holiday, executive director for NFCC, while working in marketing. After Heather and her team filmed a promotional video for NFCC, she and Sandy kept in touch. The partnership grew when Heather stepped into her new role at Home Repairs.
NFCC focuses on meeting immediate needs by providing food, clothing and shelter and encouraging financial stability through education and life skills.
“My mission ends at helping a family stay housed,” Sandy explained. “But that’s where Heather’s mission starts. They’re housed now — let’s keep them safely and securely housed in a house that is in good shape with good maintenance and in good working order.”
“For me, it made sense to reach out to Sandy and connect the dots as we began to focus more on North Fulton and Forsyth,” said Heather Loveridge, HRM executive director. “I knew the great work they were doing and that we could help provide even more wraparound services to their clients.”
When Nadine came to NFCC looking for assistance, her needs exceeded the scope of their mission, but the NFCC knew who could help her.
That’s when volunteers in the Alpharetta area joined forces with Home Repairs Ministries. Last year, Jack Spicer and Rick Custer, members of Alpharetta Methodist Church, felt a call to start the Handyman Ministry within their church and connected with Maggie Brannon, Director of Missions and Outreach at the church.
“A few men from the men’s ministry came to me a year ago, encouraging us to start a ministry where we can help our community,” Maggie explained. “They found peer ministries and initially reached out to HRM for guidance.”
“[Home Repairs Ministries] had primarily focused on Gwinnett County since they started, and they were looking to grow,” Jack shared. “We can bring Alpharetta, Milton, Johns Creek and Roswell into their service area since our church is located in Alpharetta.
“Our church generously offered to pay for materials, so for the projects that we do, Home Repairs doesn’t have to cover the cost of any materials.”
Nadine’s need gave HRM and Alpharetta Methodist volunteers the opportunity to step in, and their intervention touched her heart.
“These men, they were so great. They were so sweet,” she shared. “You could see and know and feel they were doing this from their heart.”
As the volunteers were blessing her, Nadine decided to bless them right back.
“I said to them, ‘Let me go out and get coffee,’” she said. “And then I was sharing with them that I went to the store the night before they came, and I saw this beautiful pumpkin bread. The Lord said, ‘Buy the bread,’ and I said, ‘I already have sweets in the house.’ But I didn’t know the bread was for them.”
Now, when Nadine sits in her home, she’s not looking at exposed wire or feeling the chill air on her feet from the exterior door.
“Christ asked us to be hands and feet and serve others,” Jack said. “We enjoy building with our hands and seeing the results of our labor — not only that we fix the home, but it brings the homeowner significant comfort and relief, too.
“Most of these folks don’t have the resources to do these projects themselves or have limited resources, so it hangs over their heads. We help bring that peace of mind.”
For Sandy and the team at NFCC, Home Repairs Ministries and their partner churches play a vital part in helping homeowners like Nadine push through difficult days.
“We’re able to say, ‘We’re going to help you and take the burden of this month’s rent off you. We’re also going to refer you to a great friend of ours, Home Repairs Ministries, to take the worry and the burden and the guilt you feel for not providing a safe and comfortable home for your families,’” Sandy said.
“To be able to partner like this with NCFF and Alpharetta Methodist is really what it’s all about,” Heather said. “We are much stronger when we’re working together, and we’re able to really connect people and help homeowners even more.”
After working with Home Repairs Ministries, Nadine has already referred a friend in Gwinnett County and continually prays for the volunteers who came to her home and for Home Repairs Ministries.
“I’m asking God to bless this ministry because it is needed,” she said. “May God bless them and give them help and strength.
“They’re doing work for the Lord.”