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Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

The Hope Center received a grant from Greater Keokuk Area Habitat for Humanity and will begin renovations Friday. Help is needed to demolish the porch awning on Saturday. The work begins at 9 a.m. With the grant, the Hope Center will replace their porch and all the windows in the home to improve conditions for volunteers, secure the premises, and make all parts of the building usable.

The Hope Center received a grant from Greater Keokuk Area Habitat for Humanity and will begin renovations Friday. Help is needed to demolish the porch awning on Saturday. The work begins at 9 a.m. With the grant, the Hope Center will replace their porch and all the windows in the home to improve conditions for volunteers, secure the premises, and make all parts of the building usable.

As it stands (or teeters), the Hope Center has a big heart but a failing frame. The porch awning desperately needs to be replaced. In addition, only two windows can open, making most of the house dangerously stuffy. Help is required to demolish the Hope Center porch Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. The presence of skilled or unskilled labor or volunteers who provide food and drinks will make light work.

Eighteen months ago, Estrada put out a desperate cry for help in the community when the second-story windows fell out of their frames. The only windows that open (without falling out) are two on the first floor. Volunteers installed donated air conditioners in the windows to help with ventilation. Recently, someone broke into the Hope Center and stole repair tools by pulling out the air conditioners and climbing through the windows. “We didn’t even realize the tools were gone until we went to look for them.” Taking one of the few things the center keeps for itself when otherwise giving back to the community was devastating.

“But God always provides,” said Estrada. “And he did.”

That’s when she met Miles Garder.

“I met Katherine Braggs, Denise Estrada, and Pastor Deborah Letcher and fell in love with these women and the community they have created,” Gardner said. “Their hearts are just to do good.”

After Gardner saw the work needed to make the Hope Center a safer, more comfortable structure, he wrote a grant proposal to an organization asking for help. Unfortunately, the organization rejected the proposal.

Months later, Michelle Batley, a long-time board member for Habitat for Humanity, brought up Hope Center at a board meeting. Gardner, a board member, realized he still had the 10-page Hope Center proposal. After changing minor details, he quickly submitted it to Habitat for Humanity. It was accepted.

The grant provided enough funding to replace the decrepit porch awning and all of the windows in the house.

“Every time I think of the grant, I get weak in the knees,” said Estrada. “The back part of the house and the upstairs has very little ventilation. It is unbearable in the summer. Having windows that can open will be huge. It’s because of Miles’s perseverance that this is happening.”

For Habitat for Humanity, this is the first time they’ve taken on a project like this.

“The decision was made to help (Hope Center) because we (the board) see the Hope Center as a very integral component in our community,” wrote Kristal King in an email on Wednesday. “Hope Center typically serves the very families our organization hopes to partner with in our community. Ensuring they have a sustainable location to provide the resources they do is something the board felt was worthy of our time and energy. Since COVID, Greater Keokuk Area Habitat for Humanity has been greatly hindered in our ability to serve. This allows us to both give back and get back into action.”

The Habitat for Humanity trailer is already stationed in the parking lot shared by Hope Center and New Bethel Church. On Friday, volunteers will prepare the porch for demolition. Then, on Saturday at 9 a.m., they will tear it down. Help is needed for the demolition, and no experience is necessary.

Gardner says Habitat for Humanity’s goal is to have the porch rebuilt by the end of October and new windows installed by early December.

Habitat for Humanity provides services based on an income percentage calculated from the average mean income for the area. Previously, if a person made less than 30 percent of the mean income, they were approved for Habitat housing and services. Unfortunately, this percentage made it difficult for many people who needed services to receive them. Recently, the board decided to raise the rate to 60 percent to extend their impact and expand eligibility.

“We are currently working on a Homes for Iowans home in conjunction with Southeast Iowa Housing, Inc., which has been placed at 1117 Concert St.,” said King. “Greater Keokuk Area Habitat for Humanity is currently accepting applications for partner families to obtain an affordable mortgage to purchase this home.” For information, visit https://www.habitat.org/us/city/greater-keokuk-area-hfh.

Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High around 80F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.

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