Consider yourself a handy person? Join our Safe at Home Repair Team!

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Rebuilding Together Seattle (rtseattle.org) is a nonprofit organization that brings communities and volunteers together to help low income homeowners live in warmth, safety, and independence. We provide free home repairs to qualifying homeowners who are senior citizens (65+), people with disabilities, veterans, or families with children (under the age of 18) living between Everett and Tukwila.

What is the Safe at Home Program?

The Safe at Home (SAH) is a year-round program at RTS that provides homeowners with a handful of smaller safety repairs at their homes. Common examples of projects include installing grab bars, hand rails, smoke detectors, light bulbs, kitchen appliances, etc. or fixing/replacing doors, locks, or other one-time repairs. Depending on available program funding, RTS also considers larger "single" projects such as building ramps, decks, installing a new furnace or appliance, and small volunteer group projects.

What are qualities of a SAH volunteer?

1.A SAH volunteer must be patient, flexible, and comfortable working in a diverse environment. Most of RTS's clients are elderly and/or disabled, and have a difficult time understanding the repair process, so some "hand holding" is needed.

2.SAH volunteers must be responsible and show good follow through with their assigned projects. Volunteers should communicate any concerns to the RTS Office to prevent any issues or delays of the repair process.

3.A SAH volunteer must have excellent communication skills. It is important that the RTS office knows where you are at in the process of the repairs, and that the homeowner is fully aware of what is going on.

4.Ideally, SAH volunteers should possess general "handyman" skills or knowledge of home repairs. However, SAH volunteers may enlist the support of other skilled volunteers to assist with their assigned tasks.

What does the commitment look like?

Each SAH member completes the number of projects that is feasible for their schedule. The RTS Staff understands that volunteers have full-time jobs, families, and other personal and professional commitments; we appreciate anything you are able to give! With that said, RTS does expect that if a volunteer signs on to the SAH repair team, they will take initiative and sign up for projects as often as is feasible.

Additional logistics

• All volunteers must complete a state background check and sign a volunteer waiver
• RTS has a small warehouse containing tools available for volunteer use
• Contact Program Manager, Mike Lahoda, at mlahoda@rtseattle.org or (206) 682-1231 to schedule a volunteer orientation meeting