ORLANDO, Fla. — City leaders, volunteers and staff from the nonprofit Rebuilding Together of Central Florida gathered Wednesday to put the finishing touches on a home rehabilitation project in Orlando’s Richmond Heights neighborhood.

The home has belonged to the same family for almost 70 years, according to the city of Orlando.

Terry Williams said their home was damaged badly in 2017 during Hurricane Irma, especially the ceiling and roof, which was replaced last year through Rebuilding Together of Central Florida’s Raise the Roof program. The group has replaced more than 80 local residents’ roofs since 2016, according to its website.

“Our mission is to repair homes, revitalize communities and rebuild lives, and we do that by providing free critical home repair to neighbors in need,” Executive Director Abigail Lemay said.

Wednesday morning’s event was the group’s first big volunteer-based project since March 2020, Lemay said, explaining that coronavirus pandemic restrictions made bringing volunteers together nearly impossible last year. In 2019, they were able to assist 71 homeowners; last year, Lemay said they could only help between 12 and 15.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 6 City Commissioner Bakari Burns painted the home’s exterior alongside about 20 of the nonprofit group’s volunteers, staff and board members.

Burns pointed out the important role rehabilitation projects like the Richmond Heights home can play in adding to and preserving Florida’s affordable housing inventory.

“Here in Central Florida and throughout the nation, there’s a lack of affordable housing,” Burns said. “When we start to attempt to address that, one of the things we have to keep in mind is the preservation of our current housing stock.”

For Williams’ part, she expressed her gratitude for all the volunteers and for participation in the project by Dyer and Burns.

“It feels awesome,” Williams said. “They’re even doing my swing in the back, that I've been trying to do for the past year and I haven't gotten to it.”

“This is a great birthday present for my husband. His birthday is today,” Williams said.

Lemay said Rebuilding Together of Central Florida has a "huge, huge need" for licensed contractors who are willing and able to give back to the community by participating in the group's restoration projects.

The rehab project was made possible with funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, administered by the City of Orlando. The CDBG program provides annual grants to states, cities and counties for initiatives that bolster urban communities and provide safe, decent housing, especially for low- and moderate- income people.

Molly Duerig is a Report for America corps member who is covering affordable housing for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.