After a socially distanced year marked with canceled events and gatherings, a Manhattan-based non-profit is hoping a new home revitalization program can bring community spirit to Northview and neighborhoods across Riley and Pottawatomie Counties this Spring.
“We’ve all spent a lot of time on our neighborhood block this past year,” says Manhattan Area Habitat for Humanity (MAHFH) Executive Director Josh Brewer. “This is an opportunity for everybody to get out and help rake the leaves and pick up trash and paint some houses and really just have some pride in this community. We’re going to get back.”
He’s talking about Brush With Kindness, a MAHFH program aiming to help low-to-moderate income households with numerous exterior home maintenance programs and bring homeowners into the mix. Though the organization has a big focus on the development of new housing, this program is the latest branded project among MAHFH’s community revitalization efforts says Brewer.
The program is open to applicants that earn below 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), amounting to a maximum annual household income of $60,400 for a family of four. Participants are also required to have owned and occupied their home for two years, have a home insurance policy, reside in Riley or Pottawatomie County and be up to date on property tax bills.
And though there are numerous projects eligible, it won’t cover everything. Brush With Kindness limits work to things like tree trimming and yard clean-up, exterior carpentry, weatherization, and painting projects.
“We’re not doing any critical home repairs as part of this program,” Brewer says. “We’re not coming inside, everything is outside – they’re not doing any large structural repairs that they need to pull a permit on for this.”
That’s in part due to the volunteer nature of the program. In addition to an income-graduated fee ranging from $50 to $250, MAHFH also asks participants for 10 hours “sweat equity” – assisting other participants with maintenance projects of their own.
“I think that that’s something that’s very unique about Manhattan, is that there’s a lot of community pride,” says Development Manager Emily Polston. “I think leveraging that, it lends itself to the Manhattan community – they’re excited to help each other and get involved.”
That’s led MAHFH to collaborate with neighborhood advocacy organization Northview Rising. Polston has become increasingly aware of NVR’s work building community and making connections – the very kind of things she says you look to when launching a program like Brush With Kindness.
NVR has passed along information to residents through social media posts such as on the Northview Rising Facebook page or through the group’s newsletter, Northview News NOW! Advocate and resident Kyle Green hopes the word gets out and that eligible Northview residents take part in the program.
“Any type of program like that will be looked at as a benefit,” Green says. “It’s encouraging, too, sometimes you just take a step back and go how am I ever going to get this done, you know? To know that there’s programs out there like that being considered and being implemented, I think is a big positive especially to homeowners.”
Northview is a diverse and largely working-class neighborhood called home by people from retirees and military families to students and service-sector employees. For some in the neighborhood, money was already tight before the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid it, numerous saw their financial situation worsen. Green says maintenance can be hit and miss in his neck of Northview on Strong Avenue, where he’s lived 34 years, and that money can make undergoing upkeep projects a hard call.
“You try to focus on the outside as much as you can,” says Green. “But it’s kind of like everything else – other things have priority, you’ve got to put food on the table, you’ve got to pay electrical bills and utilities and that other stuff gets deferred.”
Though things can be tough, Green says the neighborhood is still quite vibrant and has seen a resurgence in recent years. Aiming to apply himself, he echoes Brewer and Polston’s optimism that the Brush With Kindness program can continue bolstering a sense of place in the Northview neighborhood.
“I think there still needs to be those kinds of things to get people closer together,” says Green. “That kind of stuff builds relationships – it’s just one step closer to getting people to get out and get to know one another.”
You can learn more about eligible projects, program qualifications, and how to apply of volunteer at MAHFH.org/what-we-do/brush-with-kindness.
Originally posted at https://northviewnotable.substack.com/p/community-engagement-a-priority-in
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