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Lee Van Roth: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Leigh Van Roth, and this is On the Ground-Ypsi. Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley is scaling up its neighborhood cleanup and repair work this year under a unified initiative called “Rock the Block”, an effort bringing together volunteers, residents, and community partners for exterior home repairs and neighborhood beautification designed to strengthen housing stability and community ties throughout the year. Joining me to discuss Rock the Block is Claire Simpson, Home Improvement Program Manager at Habitat for Humanity-Huron Valley. Claire, thank you so much for being here today.
Claire Simpson: Thank you so much for having me.
Lee Van Roth: So, Claire, I know Habitat usually does smaller cleanup and exterior repair days throughout the years, particularly in the warmer months, but what makes Rock the Block different from these earlier kind of scattered beautification events?
Claire Simpson: Yeah, for over for over 10 years we've been completing these exterior beautification projects primarily in our partner neighborhoods of West Willow, Sugar Brook, and Gull Village and because we've seen year over year the interest from not only volunteers, so people who want to come out and help their community, but also the need from the homeowners has just grown exponentially. So, as a result of this, you know we really decided to scale up our year-to-year days it makes us eight. Large one-day events with over a hundred volunteers and hopefully impacting more than ten households.
Lee Van Roth: And you had mentioned a couple of the neighborhoods, West Willow and Sugar Brook. Rock the Block will also be tackling the Furwood and Elder Street area on three different concentrated days. Why was it important to sort of structure these events in that way in these specific areas as opposed to traveling between areas on just one day?
Claire Simpson: Mainly for a logistics point of view, it's really difficult to move wheelbarrows and shovels throughout the day and make sure that all of our volunteers are safe. So just purely from a logistics standpoint, it is really nice to also see a solidified effort on one street. Just again, 100 volunteers walking around in one neighborhood to make a difference is such a visible and wonderful thing that can happen.
Lee Van Roth: And I'm sure the cleanup and beautification tasks will vary depending on the area, but what can folks who haven't participated in a Habitat hosted cleanup event sort of expect from Rock the Block?
Claire Simpson: We joke here at habitat to expect everything and anything that can happen because of the grassroots and homeowner-led type initiative every day looks a little bit different for every project can be a little different. We're in process right now scoping out exactly what that work will be back a few things I know for certain that will be happening will be found on painting of porches. Installing gutter guards. So those are those leaf filtration devices that go on top of your gutter. So, folks aren't on ladders as often, hoping to reduce fall risk. We really hope to plant flowers. There will absolutely be vegetation removal, getting rid of some large shrubs and some demolition of fences. So that's a little bit of what to expect.
Lee Van Roth: And I know that some of these homes or a lot of these homes in these areas are these buildings themselves are aging, the population that is living within them is aging as well, you know, why is it so, you know why is so important from habitat's perspective to go about these types of repairs that maybe seem small to younger homeowners?
Claire Simpson: Yeah, very well said. Most of the homes that we'll be working on were built in the 60s and they've just seen decades of deferred maintenance, a lot of which is expensive. It's difficult and folks don't always know who to call. And as you said, they can be really minor repairs like a downspout extension, for example, but reducing just the amount of rain that falls on your foundation can greatly increase the longevity of your home. So just by doing those small acts, we're able to reduce major repairs in the future. Another one of our goals is to increase accessibility and safety. So, while a small hole in your backyard from the neighborhood pub might not seem like a big deal to someone with any mobility challenges that. That can be life-threatening. It could put them in the hospital. Increasing safety and accessibility is paramount.
Lee Van Roth: I understand that part of that goal and those specific goals is also to keep folks in their homes as opposed to going into assisted living or living with family members, things like that. How do all of those things kind of come together to ensure that our Ypsi neighborhoods are as full and lively as they are?
Claire Simpson: Yeah, I think one thing that really makes me think, is when folks go into our Rock the Block program, we may only plant flowers or lay mulch. But at that time, as a certified aging in place specialist, I might notice that the person that we are planning on serving for rock the block is, you know, in their nineties, and is really having a hard time walking up their steps that were actually just contractor stairs. And could actually benefit more from being in our critical repairs program as well. So, there's a lot of referrals that happen in between our programming that Rock the Block really alludes to that we otherwise wouldn't have known of and potentially those homeowners wouldn't have known of our other programs.
Lee Van Roth: You mentioned how this event is, or these events are hoping to bring together at least a hundred volunteers for each day. There is this idea of Rock the Block being less task-focused and more community-based and more about bringing folks together. How does that approach sort of, I guess, change the perspective of how this work is actually impacting the neighborhoods?
Claire Simpson: When we do our initial assessment, I always tell them that, let's create the longest wish list of possible things we could do to be applied outside of your home. And then on the day of, our volunteers are going to do absolutely everything they can to accomplish that plan. More often than not, folks who participate in this program suffer from social isolation. At this time of year, they’re coming out of seasonal depression and all of those mental health type needs. And, more often than not, the homeowners are just excited that someone they have never met before wants to come out and help them do yard work, which isn't always the most fun thing in the world. But I think that there's really a correlation between the type of work that we do and an increased sense of mental health and attitude towards the community. And then, hand-in-hand with our volunteers, it just feels wonderful to do something really good for someone else. And we remind our volunteers throughout the day that even though you might be filling a hole in the backyard or hanging out on a ladder for a few hours doing hard work, that the work that you do is incredibly impactful. And that type of messaging, it makes the entire day so jovial and exciting.
Lee Van Roth: This is On the Ground-Ypsi on 89.1 WEMU. I'm talking with Claire Simpson about Habitat for Humanity here on Valley's Rock the Block events in Ypsilanti Township. So, Claire, you had mentioned how, you know, a lot of this work being done on these older homes is, You know, taking a lot of strain off of older homeowners. I'm wondering for those folks who maybe feel overwhelmed by the amount of exterior maintenance that might need to be done? What does it mean to have this amount of help coming all at once kind of in this big beautiful army that cares about the neighborhood this much?
Claire Simpson: It's a wonderful thing to be a part of. I mean, if anyone can just think of how long it would take two hands to complete all of the work, it realistically would take folks months to do the work that the 20 hands that are working on their yard can do in just a few hours. And it is so much more fun to do yard work when there are other people enjoying it with you.
Lee Van Roth: The Rock the Block dates are scheduled for May, June, and October. What are you, you know, hoping that these neighborhoods kind of feel like after Rock the block wraps for the day, each day that that it's taking place?
Claire Simpson: Really intentionally named the program rock the block. We hope that it feels like a block party, a community event afterwards. We're hoping to have some food and a picnic style space to talk, to reminisce and to share. We're also hoping in the future to expand the program to also act almost as a as a resource fair inviting other nonprofits. To really make a concerted effort and sharing the resources that we have in Washtenaw County because we really have so much. Yeah, we're really, we were hoping for a block party feel.
Lee Van Roth: Well, Claire, I want to thank you so much for joining me today and for sharing about how Rock the Block is hoping to strengthen neighborhoods and support homeowners across the township. I wish volunteers the best of weather each of those days and hope for a really great turnout.
Claire Simpson: Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
Lee Van Roth: For more on today's conversation and a link to the full article, visit our website at WEMU.org. On the Ground-Ypsi is brought to you in partnership with Concentrate Media. I'm Lee Van Roth, and this is your Community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU, Ypsilanti.
Lee Van Roth's 'Rock the Block' Article
Concentrate Media's Lee Van Roth (formerly Rylee Barnsdale) is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She uses her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.
