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Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton joined forces with another local nonprofit to make a long overdue critical repair for a Springfield senior homeowner who was unable to afford it otherwise. The result was a new roof for Springfield’s Marsha Jones and gratitude that was … through the roof.

Habitat was able to apply a $7,500 Carol Peterson Grant to the project, and Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield was able to cover the rest of the cost. City of Springfield Code Enforcement Officer Jeremy Leist referred Jones to Habitat, and Dependable Roofing did the repair at an affordable cost. The end result is a much-needed repair that couldn’t have been made by working alone.

“I am very thankful. Otherwise, I would still be looking for a way to get it paid for,” said the 70-year-old Jones. “Roofing is an expensive repair, especially because my house is so tall. It was hard to get someone who would do it. But everyone was real nice. I asked a lot of questions and Brian (Ray, Habitat’s Clark County Operations Manager) took the time to answer all of them. It was a really a blessing that they came through for me.”

Ray was glad it all worked out.

“We are thankful for our relationship with Greg (Womacks, NHP’s Executive Director) and his great team at NHP,” he said. “We are very excited for our recent collaborative effort to continue sourced grant funds to roof Marsha’s home.

“There are tremendous opportunities for Habitat to serve our community here in Clark County by working with various organizations,” he added. “This was truly a win for everyone!”

“Anytime we have an issue and feel like it is a bigger project we can handle, we definitely are willing to work together to get it done,” said Womacks. “It’s fun to watch projects come together and review before and after pictures; it feels good to be a part of that.

“Anything we can continue to do together gets a lot more done in the community,” he continued. “Partnership is critical. Collaboration enhances accomplishment.”

It also helps neighbors like Jones who are on a fixed income and in desperate need.

“I started having some trouble with some leaks in 2019,” she said. “It got so bad where it fell in on one of my bedrooms. I was catching water for a couple months and then I got it patched, but it didn’t last at all. Then it started leaking again in other parts of the room, and from there it just ran.”

“It looks real nice,” Jones added. “It is going to help my porch as it was leaking. I was surprised they did it in such a short time. I feel so blessed.”

If you know someone that is in need of a critical repair but is on a fixed budget and can’t afford to make it, call Habitat at (937) 610-0442 and ask for Brian, or call NHP at (937) 322-4623.