She Builds
Women-led and women focused, She Builds provides critical repairs for women-headed households and women-focused community spaces to empower women to maintain safe and healthy homes, make a difference in their communities and build a supportive community network.
Women and older adult homeowners make up the core of Rebuilding Together work. In 2021, over 80% of individuals who received services from Rebuilding Together were women. Women over the age of 65 also experience poverty in larger numbers than men, with women making up nearly two-thirds of older adults living in poverty. Out of all household types, female-headed households with children have a much higher prevalence of repair needs and costs. According to the National Women’s Law Center, in 2018 more than one in eight women and more than six in ten children lived in poverty. More than half of all low-income children live in families headed by women. Additionally, more than one in three families headed by women with children lived under the federal poverty line. Two-thirds of low-wage workers are women working for just $11.50 or less, most without a spouse’s income to rely on to support their family.
She Builds is a powerful collaboration between Rebuilding Together, corporate and community leaders who are dedicated to advancing the housing and community issues affecting women. Volunteers, homeowners and community members come to the builds with a myriad of experiences and skills to share and learn from one another. Programming includes participation in a home or community center renovation led by women, home repair trainings to give women the confidence and skills to maintain safe and healthy homes and leadership training and mentoring to encourage community participation and empowerment. Participants learn basic carpentry and plumbing skills, electrical safety do’s and don’ts and other on-the-job training while working on these repair projects to improve the health and safety of their own living conditions. Learning how to complete home repairs independently not only saves money but builds confidence in self-sufficiency. She Builds brings women together to support one another and empowers them to be changemakers in their own communities.
Rebuilding Together New Orleans is excited to announce our first She Builds, making place in March 2023 as part of Women’s History Month!
She Builds Schedule:
-March 4th 2023 | Skill Building Workshop – Power Tools and Woodworking | 10:00am-12:00pm | 2801 Marais St
-March 8th 2023, She Builds Volunteer Day
-March 16th 2023 | Negotiate Your Way to Equal Pay | 5:00-6:30pm | Urban South Brewery
-March 27th 2023 | The Journey Back Home (Virtual) | 12:30-2:00pm CT
For more information on how to become a She Builds sponsor or volunteer, contact kschweitzer@rtno.org. For more information on how to host a workshop or a fundraiser at your business, contact ecolbert@rtno.org.
