NCRCAP - NC Rural Communities Assistance Project, Inc.

Safe Housing Wish List

You can support the Safe Housing Project in 2008! To donate any of the following materials or services, please contact Sharon LaPalme via email or by phone at 919-542-7227.

Gift card to purchase building materials
If you’re a plumber, your labor at a discounted price!
If you’re an electrician, your labor at a discounted price!
If you’re a septic and/or well installer, your labor at a discounted price!

For additional opportunities to support NCRCAP, see our Support page.

To send a donation, you can Download our donation form or Donate online at our secure site.

NCRCAP completes housing repairs for very low income residents in Chatham and Randolph Counties to eliminate health and safety hazards, especially those posed by the lack of indoor plumbing. Since 1998, NCRCAP has worked with nearly 70 households, including eleven households without indoor plumbing.

NCRCAP's assistance includes installing or repairing drinking water wells and septic systems, repairing/replacing deteriorated roofs, floors, windows, electrical and plumbing systems, installing safer and more modern heating and cooling systems, and completing other housing repairs to bring substandard housing up to current building codes.

Visit our News page to read several articles on the Safe Housing Initiative.

Partners

Through the Safe Housing Initiative program, PROMISE students taking a beginning home building course from Central Carolina Community College construct a bathroom for a low-income household that lacks complete indoor plumbing and does not have a spare room that can be easily converted into a bathroom.

The PROMISE program, housed under Joint Orange Chatham Community Action (JOCCA), is dedicated to providing innovative educational strategies, mentoring, and employment opportunities to high school dropouts aged 16-21. Building bathroom additions for the SHI program provides occupational skills training and thereby increases job opportunities for local youth enrolled in the program.

After the bathroom addition is completed, it is transported to the participating home, set on a permanent foundation, and attached to the existing home according to county standards. AWWA Outreach volunteers, licensed professionals, and local businesses donate labor and materials to help with this process.

As coordinator for this project, NCRCAP identifies eligible households and assists them through the application process for a USDA Rural Development 504 loan or grant. This involves determining what work needs to be done on the house and obtaining estimates from private contractors for all work that is not covered by volunteer labor.

Through partnerships with JOCCA in Chatham County and Regional Consolidated Services in Randolph County, NCRCAP enrolls eligible households into a Weatherization program that provides windows, doors, insulation, and weather stripping to ensure homes meet USDA thermal standards. NCRCAP coordinates efforts between the community college, AWWA volunteers, private contractors, community action groups, and town and county inspections departments throughout the construction process.