Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade helps to stabilize neighborhoods like the West Grove by providing cost-free repairs and renovations to low-income homeowners.
During the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago, homeowner Laura Sala was under-employed, dealing with health problems, and facing some serious repair issues at her home on William Avenue in the West Grove.
“My home was completely destroyed,” Sala told the Spotlight, recalling how termites and wood rot had eaten away at the three-bedroom house she purchased in 2010.
Sala, 40, was able to repair her home with help from Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade, a community revitalization nonprofit active in Coconut Grove and other neighborhoods. Rebuilding Together helped Sala fix her roof and replace her windows and doors.
Rebuilding Together helps low-income residents like Sala stay in their homes by funding repairs that homeowners wouldn’t be able to accomplish on their own.
By doing so, the nonprofit is helping to stabilize a neighborhood that has been upended in recent years by rising property values and gentrification.
“We go into people’s homes and provide repairs that are critical to their safety, health, and accessibility – and we do it for free,” said Martina Spolini, the organization’s executive director.
“We work in communities in areas of Miami where people have lived in their homes, sometimes for generations, or live in homes that were affordable at the time (they were purchased) but are very old,” Spolini added.
“This means they need maintenance or repairs that are very costly,” she said.
Since 2018, Rebuilding Together has helped more than 70 Coconut Grove families make repairs to their homes. During that time, the organization also moved its office to Grand Avenue, giving it a larger footprint in one of the primary neighborhoods it serves.
“Having a presence in the community has made a huge difference,” Spolini said.
Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade got its start after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 as a disaster recovery organization.
Today the Miami nonprofit, one of more than 100 affiliates of the national Rebuilding Together organization, receives a mix of government, corporate, and foundation funding that allows it to provide repairs to legacy, low-income families, often with the help of volunteers.
Some common repairs that Rebuilding Together provides to clients include plumbing, carpentry, ADA-compliant retrofits, and painting.
“We take care of these repairs so families can worry about other important needs such as putting food on the table and covering medical bills,” Spolini said.
Homeowners who receive assistance pledge not to move or sell the home for five years – a commitment that more than 95% of the nonprofit’s clients uphold, Spolini said.
“People want to stay in their homes. They want to stay in their communities. They don’t sell their homes after receiving assistance,” Spolini said.
One homeowner who has benefited from Rebuilding Together is 69-year-old Thaddeus Scott, who lives in a three-bedroom house on Florida Avenue. Scott was able to install impact windows and apply a fresh coat of paint to his home with the nonprofit’s help.
“It means a lot because living in a hurricane zone, the security of having impact windows means that I don’t have to try to find plywood or replace whatever would have got broken,” Scott said. “Without Rebuilding Together, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it without taking another mortgage on my house or refinancing.”
Scott served two terms on the Coconut Grove Village Council. As a lifelong resident of the community, Scott has seen rising property values and gentrification reshape the historically Black neighborhood.
He describes what has happened to the West Grove as an “injustice.”
“Our political leaders could have done a better job at not allowing developers to just come and tear the community apart, especially considering the cultural significance” of a neighborhood founded by Bahamian settlers, Scott said.
“There wouldn’t be a city of Miami if it wasn’t for a whole lot of residents of Coconut Grove,” he said.
J.S. Rashid, the vice president of Rebuilding Together’s board of directors, says government should be doing more to provide housing and preserve the neighborhood.
“I’m disappointed in all levels (of government officials) because they do a great job at telling why they can’t do it, but we need someone to stand up and make a commitment and establish a goal,” he said.
“For example, I would respect and appreciate them if they stood in front of people and the press and said, ‘I want to build 500 units of housing’ and ended up with 250, because then they would have done something.”
In September, Miami District 2 Commissioner Damian Pardo made a $75,000 grant allocation to the organization as part of the city’s anti-poverty initiative. Spolini said the grant would support the organization’s tree-trimming program and fund emergency home repairs for low-income families.
Spolini said she and her board are grateful for the allocation – the organization currently has a waitlist of 20 families in Coconut Grove in need of support – but she also noted how construction and repair costs in Miami have soared since the pandemic.
“$75,000 is great but we operate in a very expensive industry,” she said. “The construction industry in Miami has seen an increase of 30% in the cost of materials and labor since 2020.”
Spolini said the nonprofit has sought to diversify its funding sources as a result.
“We apply for grants with corporations and foundations, and we also participate in fundraising activities (and receive) occasional donations from individuals and groups that volunteer with us,” she said.
Rebuilding Together has earned the admiration of some politicians, such as former Miami District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell, who has helped the organization get funding and also lent support as a volunteer.
“As an elected official, I was able to support dozens of nonprofits,” Russell said.
“Often times, it’s very hard to ensure the funds you allocate go towards the final objective that they were expecting. With Rebuilding Together, that was never the question. It’s a very trustworthy nonprofit that does what they say they are going to do and shows the results in a timely manner.”
Rebuilding Together has also managed to earn the trust of the community.
“I looked them up on their website after passing by their office on Grand Avenue,” Sala said. “I saw they were taking applications.”
Sala said organizations like Rebuilding Together help level the playing field for homeowners who can’t afford costly home repairs.
“I think it is more about equity than equality,” she said. “Not everyone has the same ability to make as much earnings as others.”
