{"id":106992,"date":"2020-02-25T14:03:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T19:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=106992"},"modified":"2020-02-27T10:19:23","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T15:19:23","slug":"rebuilding-orlando-one-homeowner-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/rebuilding-orlando-one-homeowner-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebuilding Orlando One Homeowner at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
Abby Lemay \u201915MNM<\/strong> awakens each day at 7 a.m. in order to arrive to the Rebuilding Together Central Florida office by 8:45 a.m.<\/p>\n From there, the nonprofit’s executive director will attend impromptu meetings with her staff about upcoming events and programs, participate in phone meetings with current and future partners, work on grant applications and the organization\u2019s budget, eat lunch while attending a webinar focused on a client and donor management software the organization is implementing, maybe attend a meeting for the Orlando chapter of National Association of Women in Construction, and eventually end up back home by 9:30 p.m., where she\u2019ll address a few emails before the next day begins.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know that phrase where people say they wear a lot of hats? Well, I feel like I wear the entire hat store,\u201d laughs Lemay.<\/p>\n Founded in 1988, the Rebuilding Together organization has affiliates in 39 states with a total of six in the state of Florida. The Central Florida location began in 2002 and services Orange and Seminole counties.<\/p>\n \u201cOur mission is to repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives.\u201d \u2014 Abby Lemay ’15<\/strong>, UCF grad<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cOur mission is to repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives,\u201d says Lemay. \u201cWe do that here locally by providing free, critical home repair to our central Florida neighbors in need.\u201d<\/p>\n About 70 homeowners were helped last year; 50 of those requested roof repairs from damage sustained during Hurricane Irma in 2017. In addition to roof repair, the organization provides weatherization (such as window replacement or re-sealing a home) and accessibility modifications (replacing old, torn carpeting with vinyl to provide a smooth walking surface or installing grab bars in showers and bathrooms).<\/p>\n \u201cWe aim to preserve the existing affordable housing so that homeowners can stay in their homes longer, which helps us prevent displacement and reduces strain on the rental market,\u201d Lemay says.<\/p>\n Lemay has been in the affordable housing world since 2011, when she graduated from Stetson University\u00a0 with her bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology and American studies and began working to empower families as they transitioned out of homelessness and into housing stability. She also worked at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando and Osceola County for many years, focusing on neighborhood revitalization and helped launch the home repair arm of the nonprofit.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew that I wanted a career in making my community a better place, but I didn\u2019t really know what that meant when I first got started,\u201d says Lemay.<\/p>\n These roles and her network of contacts over the years as well as her knowledge of the neighborhoods and the laws that affect affordable housing have all helped ease the transition into her new job. However, it was her graduate degree in nonprofit management from UCF\u2019s School of Public Administration that provided the technical skills to elevate her experiences and knowledge into further action.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought that if I was able to continue my education, I would be in a lot better position to be able to make impact.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n