HomeFront volunteers help repair Norwalk family’s home
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Professional carpenter James Wheeler, of Bridgeport, installls new basement windows as part of a HomeFront’s third annual Fall HomeFront Days at a home on Magnolia Avenue in Norwalk, Conn. on Saturday, September 17, 2022.
Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media
NORWALK — The Hendricksons just needed a little help from some friends. HomeFront, a home-repair organization that identifies those in need, and volunteers from the Congregational Church of New Canaan gathered on Saturday to help repair the family’s home.
Volunteers weather-proofed the basement, replaced windows and siding, changed doors, installed a new kitchen sink, repaired stairs and railings and painted.
Sean O’Brien, executive director of HomeFront, said the repairs were beyond the family’s “financial and physical abilities.”
“We really think of this as they’re giving a gift to the volunteers who are helping because so many people want to do good, and the folks who apply to us, they’re really taking a leap of faith in humanity,” O’Brien said.
The organization and a partner volunteer team on each project have helped to repair 680 homes in Norwalk, according to O’Brien, who said the organization also supplies materials and assistance for home repairs throughout Connecticut.
A statement by the organization says volunteers this fall are helping “older adults on fixed incomes, veterans, persons with disabilities, single-parent households and families grappling with illness or unemployment.”
HomeFront began in Norwalk in 1988 and was originally a part of Americares. To become involved, faith-based, civic or corporate organizations that would like to be a volunteer team can visit the organization’s website, and skilled workers can offer their services for smaller projects as well. People in need of help with home repairs can also apply on the website.