![[Company Logo Image]](http://www.warmnc.org/images/WarmLogo.gif)
Who We Are
WARM began in March, 1998, as an effort of Methodist
Ministers in Southeastern North Carolina in response to a need for
housing and home repairs for the poor and elderly after a hurricane.
WARM now operates as a 501(c)3 non-profit with a fifteen member Board of
Directors.
WARM brings together interfaith volunteers, civic and community groups,
businesses and local government agencies to assist low-income people
living in substandard housing, helping rehabilitate and improve homes at
no cost to the residents. We advocate and work for adequate shelter and
better living environments for all residents of Bladen, Brunswick,
Columbus, New Hanover and Pender Counties. There is no restriction on
age, race, color, or religion.
Donated funds will pay for supplies and materials. Volunteers do needed
repairs on the homes with ‘sweat equity’ from the homeowner when
possible. The targeted homeowners all fall at or below the poverty level
and have completed application forms, been approved for work, and
material costs have been estimated for repairs and are being detailed on
them. As soon as funding is in place, work dates and volunteers are
assigned to the homes. Volunteers are recruited to assist other area
volunteers to help with repairs on the homes, as well as to provide
support to families in the form of used appliances, furniture, etc for
those families where tornadoes, fire, or other disasters have damaged
their living space.
Our History
WARM has helped provide safe, healthy, secure housing for over 220 families. In addition, WARM has helped provide life skills training and re-involved in the community dozens of residents seeking to put their lives back together following disaster, illness or other misfortune. By renovating substandard or damaged family homes, WARM is able to give families back their feeling of self-respect, pride in ownership, and the positive feeling that they are safe and are responsible homeowners in the community. WARM brings together communities and neighbors to help those most in need through hands-on assistance, advocacy, and relationship building.
From January 2000, to January 2007, over 335
applications have been received requesting help. In 2005, thirty
projects were reviewed, assessed, and were completed. In addition, in
late 2005, forty-one new applications were reviewed, applicants
interviewed and sites assessed for work to be accomplished in 2006.
In 2006, thirty-two more homes had been completed and eight were in
process at the end of the year. And, an additional forty-eight homes had
been assessed, interviews completed and sites assessed for work in 2007.
Those homes are now awaiting financial support and volunteer scheduling.
WARM currently has 117 applications on hand waiting for volunteers and
funding in the five county area. In addition, new applications have
continued to be received and are now awaiting interviews, work
estimates, and financial and volunteer assignments.
Approximately seventy-five percent of our clients are over age 60 and
the over all average age of all applicants was ___. Almost eighty
percent have been women. Over fifty percent of homeowners labeled
themselves as disabled but we feel that this number is underrepresented
due to the applicants’ reluctance to consider themselves as having a
handicap.
Typical repairs include roofs, damaged ceilings, kitchens, bathrooms,
rotten floors, porch
stairs, and wheelchair ramps. A good deal of window repairs, painting,
and insulation
also occurs.
In addition to the almost forty homes completed in 2006, WARM has also
installed or
replaced appliances, cupboards and cabinets as well as furniture in a
number of the
projects.
WARM has been part of the Emergency Response Team that has helped the
recent 2007 tornado victims in Riegelwood. We are helping with
assessments on homes as well as repairs. Both, Leon West, WARM Project
Manager, and Rev. Bill Haddock, WARM Board member, have taken leadership
positions in helping with this disaster. WARM will continue to provide
support to homeowners in the Riegelwood area as long as needed.
WARM also responded to several requests for assistance with repairs and
clean up after
tornadoes spun off by the hurricanes hit the Rocky Point area in Pender
County in 2004.
Each application, from the time of receiving the application form to
setting a start date for the project and scheduling the volunteers,
requires on average twenty hours of review, which includes interviewing
the applicant and visiting their home to estimate work and costs. The
average cost of home repair for WARM in 2005 was $2050 per home. In 2006
we found the average cost per home is closer to $2400 per home due to
increased costs in materials and gasoline. For example, a 2 x 4 a year
ago cost $2.29. Now it costs 3.24. Sheetrock has increased from $7 to
$8.11 or more per piece.
WARM has sought out partnerships with other non-profits to help provide
repairs to houses so that families may remain in their homes. We
currently are working with the City of Wilmington, the US Department of
Agriculture – Rural Development, and YouthBuild, a program of the US
Department of Housing. We also have strong contacts with various county
volunteer organizations, as well as with civic and religious
organizations that support local mission-driven projects.
2007 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ron Fascher Chairperson
William Haddock Secretary
Barbara Harrington
Arlene Lawson
Joseph Lee
Ric Nelson
Julie Newton
William (Bill) Parr
Ginny Peterson
Herman Ray Treasurer
Tim Russell
Ron Simcoe Vice Chairperson
Woodrow Wells
Leon West Projects Manager
Ed Wrenn
STAFF
Janet Swinton - Executive Director
Stacy Bryn - Administrative Assistant