Rebuilding Broward Together

Six months after Hurricane Wilma ripped through Reethe Randall's home, the problems still seemed endless.

Debris was piled as high as the front door. Holes dotted the caving rooftop. Windows remained shattered.

And for the 84-year-old, bed-ridden woman, repairs were impossible.

''She kept it up as much as she could,'' said Monica Hamm, 28, who bathes and feeds her disabled grandmother every day. ``It's hard for her to maintain the house when it kills her to stand up.''

Randall, the owner of the damaged house, and 21 other families in the struggling Boulevard Gardens neighborhood got a boost from young, able, helping hands on Saturday.

Nearly 400 volunteers ranging from students and professionals to children and adults took part in the seventh annual Broward Rebuilding Together Day, part of a nationwide effort Saturday to repair homes in low-income areas.

The repairs -- including new furniture, fresh coats of paint and new fixtures, to name a few -- gave help to a select group of people living in the neighborhood.

''Not enough words can express the gratitude we feel,'' Hamm said Saturday afternoon as volunteers continued working on the home she shares with her grandmother.

The repairs and replacements are valued at a total of nearly $180,000, said Dave Reierson, executive director of Rebuilding Together Broward County.

The group is an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, a volunteer-based, nonprofit organization that focuses on revitalizing low-income houses and communities in 955 cities and towns across America.

More than 40 applicants from Boulevard Gardens applied for assistance, but the organization gave priority to the elderly, disabled and families with children.

''Our work doesn't just affect those individuals in need of help,'' Reierson said. ``It's a great way to get a sense of community in here.''

Volunteers worked throughout the day in teams. Many homes bore traces of damage from Wilma. Others had damage unrelated to Wilma, but their occupants could not afford those repairs, either.

Boulevard Gardens is an unincorporated area north of Broward Boulevard, west of Northwest 27th Avenue. It is in the heart of the 33311 ZIP code, Broward's poorest.

''That's not just low income you have here,'' Reierson said. ``It's a very poor area.''

Housing repairs such as broken windows and roofs often go unfixed, making the homes hazardous and at risk of county code violations, Reierson said.

County Commissioner John Rodstrom Jr., whose district includes the neighborhood, persuaded the county to donate $25,000 for tools and supplies.

Rodstrom also donned a T-shirt and work gloves, helping remove tangled shrubs in the back yard of Randall's home in the 2900 block of Northwest Fifth Court.

''If you had seen this area three hours ago, I bet you wouldn't believe what it looked like,'' he said.

Boulevard Gardens homeowner Ernestine Wilson, 70, beamed when her new furniture arrived Saturday.

A wicker table and a checkered-patterned couch donated from a local furniture store sat in her driveway, waiting for volunteers to finish remodeling the interior of her home in the 300 block of Northwest 30th Avenue.

''This house will be gorgeous,'' yelled volunteer Malena Mendez, 40, of Pembroke Pines, who learned how to spackle Saturday morning, filling holes in the wall.

The crew of about 20 people and professional workers at Wilson's home installed a new cabinet, carpet, floors and walls.

A widow with a 50-year-old disabled daughter, Wilson said that before Saturday, all she could do was dream about these kinds of amenities.

''This is one of the best things that has ever happened in my lifetime,'' she said.