Statements
Mission
Westminster Home Connection, a nonprofit construction agency, serves older adults and people with disabilities whose homes have become unsafe, due to issues of function or mobility. Our low-cost improvements give homeowners a way to age-in-place in the home they love and in the communities where they've built their lives.
Many of the affordable homes in Nashville are owned by older adults, and maintaining them preserves valuable affordable housing. About half of housing units in Nashville are single-family homes, the majority of which are owned by a homeowner; in 2024 we will preserve more than 250 of those homes that otherwise might be lost from the affordable housing stock.
Our model is a cost-effective solution, as we are able to stabilize a home that has significant issues for an average of only $3,000. There is no cost to the client. Our average client is 71 years old with a median monthly household income of $2,000. Two-thirds are female and 58% are people of color. A home is the largest asset most people will ever own. By maintaining them, we help establish generational wealth for many historically underserved and minority communities.
Serving Middle Tennesseans in seven counties, we complete an average of seven to eight projects per home. This can include critical repairs for safety and functionality, such as roofing, plumbing, electrical, or structural; mobility modifications, such as grab bars in bathrooms and wheelchair ramps; or even clearing out and organizing a cluttered home.
To grow the impact of our work further, we encourage others to repair and modify homes in their own communities. Every community has members in need of critical home repairs and mobility modifications. Let us help you help them. Volunteer groups have unique skills and interests, so whether you want to be a fully independent construction team, receive project referrals, or simply join a supervised project led by our experienced leaders there is a place for you to help.
Background
One of Westminster's strengths - and a big reason we are able to keep our costs low - is our talented, in-house construction team. Westminster is a licensed home improvement contractor. We have ten employees: an Executive Director, an Office Coordinator, a Construction Manager, Client Services Coordinator, four Construction Technicians, an accountant, and an Intake Coordinator. Our employees and dedicated volunteers do most of the construction work, except for new roofs and HVACs, which require subcontractors.
Most clients come to us through referrals from one of our 24 health care or social service referral agencies. Most of Westminster's referrals and applicants have multiple needs in addition to home repairs. Westminster's referral partners continue to expand as we aim to work with those with the greatest needs.
Each client reports their desired repairs and modifications to their case manager, who submits a two-page application to Westminster. The client then meets at their home with the Westminster construction assessor to walk throughout the home and determine the scope of work and most appropriate construction approach. The client approves the work to be done at their home before work begins. We assign staff, volunteers and subcontractors to complete the necessary repairs. On average, homes require seven to eight repairs and/or mobility modifications.
In summary, Westminster addresses issues impacting each person's ability to age-in-place and preserve their home in the affordable housing stock. We prioritize the most critical repairs, mobility modifications and declutter services needed to make each home safer and more functional, according to the needs of the individual. Since 2013, Westminster has empowered over 3,000 people living in more than 2,200 homes.
Impact
Westminster Home Connection's focus is critical home repairs and modifications to promote aging-in-place and preserve affordable housing.
2023 Accomplishments and 2024 Plans:
- In 2023 we repaired or modified 239 homes for 375 people.
- We raised community-wide awareness that repairs and modifications are a key, common-sense approach to aging-in-place and preserving affordable housing. Channel 5, Channel 4, and Nashville Business Journal ran stories on the impact affordable repairs have on preserving affordable housing for our neighbors. In 2024 we remain laser-focused on the message of repairs and modifications to retain existing affordable homes in a safe and livable condition.
- We increased the number of households served by 5% in 2023 and plan another 20% increase in 2024. The need and request for services expands as more people become aware of us. Even with our increase in services, we only scratch the surface of the opportunity to enable older neighbors to age in place and preserve homes in the affordable housing stock.
- We encourage and enable others to grow repair and modification capacity in a neighbor-helping-neighbor approach. Different groups have different skills, interests, and abilities. Some want to join a supervised project led by an experienced leader. Others want clients referred to them and then do all the construction work themselves. An existing group may have excess capacity and we can escalate our collective impact by sending them as many referrals as they can handle. Today we have eight groups working in one of these capacities. This builds organic, sustainable construction capacity and expands awareness of repairs as a solution for preserving affordable housing.
Needs
Of course, if you are inspired to give, we are always grateful. Here are three additional ways you can help:
- See the need up close: spend some time with our inspections team. Many older Nashvillians live in homes that are unsafe for them. We see it every day. But unless you have seen it in person, it can be hard to understand how the common-sense repairs our team makes can dramatically improve the lives of our clients. We invite you to join our team and ground yourself in the reality of the need.
- Spark the conversation: preservation matters. Help reshape the dialogue around Middle Tennessee's affordable housing by emphasizing the importance of preserving existing homes. While new construction is a piece of the puzzle, it's crucial to spotlight preservation as a solution. By sharing this perspective within your circles of influence, you'll play a vital role in broadening the conversation.
- Empower your community: adopt our model. Whether you're a community leader, or someone passionate about making a local impact, you can use our model to guide you in establishing your own construction assistance program. All it takes is a few people with experience in basic home repairs and a desire to help their neighbors.
CEO Statement
In the wake of the devastating 2010 Nashville flood, a group of people in a faith community saw a need for home improvements among older adults in their congregation…so they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. As that initial group fixed and modified more and more homes, they realized this need went far beyond the handful of individuals in their own community: Safely aging in place and remaining in the home and community where you've built your life is a near universal desire, but for many, it can be financially out of reach.
If you have followed the story of Westminster Home Connection, you know that 14 years into this work, we now serve almost 400 people per year in 250 homes, and the referrals for our services never dry up. We provide a practical and cost-effective solution to a problem that most people have either helped a friend or relative through, or faced themselves.
As we have honed our model and seen the need for home preservation for older adults and persons with disabilities continue to grow, as an organization, we have moved into the next phase of our mission, which is to spread the word and help other community leaders launch similar efforts in their own neighborhoods.
We believe in this work, and we want to play a role in solving this affordable housing crisis for our neighbors. As home prices and construction costs continue to soar, Middle Tennessee will never be able to build its way out of the affordable housing crisis. The Westminster Home Connection model preserves the affordability of existing homes owned by older adults and persons with disabilities by ensuring they remain livable. Maintaining these homes preserves valuable affordable housing for far less money than building entirely new homes.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Housing, Shelter - Home Improvements/Repairs |
| Secondary Category: | Health Care - Patient & Family Support |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Westminster provides direct repairs and modifications to residents in 7 Tennessee counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson.
Westminster is also available to share our replicable service model to interested partners throughout Tennessee and the nation. Our Preservation model allows for service offerings to be expanded over time as the capacity and skill of your team increases.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Wilson |
