AMANI RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT
‘There are Blessings and Opportunities’ The Block by Block initiative & flexible funding from JP Morgan Chase made it possible for Amani resident to repair roof on generational home
said Nakia about the Block by Block initiative by neighborhood partners including Dominican Center. Nakia’s plan was to renovate the house in order to bring her grand- mother home from the senior living apartment she moved to. The home had become too much for her to care for after her grandfa- ther passed. Nakia did not get that opportunity, as her grandmother passed away in 2022. But even through her grief, Nakia knew she wanted to restore the home. “I get so much joy in taking something so dear to my family and restoring it instead of selling it off,” she said She worked and saved for four years to be able to afford inside reno- vations. As the contractors finally began, they showed Nakia layer after layer of paint and wallpaper, a scrapbook of her family’s decorat- ing choices throughout the years. Contractors worked on the walls in her house, repairing after years of water damage. At that time, “DC is a great service to the community. They’re not only helping with home repairs, but they’re also out there doing community cleanups and events, and helping resident be proactive and involved.” – Nakia Fisher, Amani Home Owner
“The first day I came out of the hos- pital, I came to this house. There is picture of my grandma holding me in her bedroom on my first day here, and I haven’t left since,” said Nakia Fisher, a third generation Am- ani homeowner. “I know everybody who has lived in this community within my lifetime. My neighbors have watched me grow up. I want to show young people in my com- munity that look like me that we can do it. You have to put in the work, but there are blessings and opportunities.” Nakia’s home was bought in the early 1950s by her grandmother, passed on to her mother, then on to her. After more than 50 years, the family home needed some repairs. There was mold and water damage from leaking roof. “I was living with buckets for years because I was saving to complete the repairs,” she said. “My grandma put me on this path and taught me to save. She told me that ‘If you want something to be better, fix it.’ And that is what I wanted to do,” she said. “A lot of people in our community don’t keep the family home. We give it up and complain about gentrification. But we need to do the work and put in the sweat equity to support our community.” “You have to be proactive in seeking opportunities that could help you. This isn’t a hand-out, you still have to do the work. It took me years to save for the renovations. I’ve just been operating on what God gave me, but this time he sent a blessing,”
the contractor told her she needed to consider roof repairs. “He said, this is your money you’re spending to fix the house, you need to pro- tect it with roof repair.” Next – within a few days – Nakia received a blessing in the form of Kevin Freeman, an electrician from Ezekiel Hope CDC, who came to work on her house. He told her that DC could help her get her roof repaired. He connected her with Housing Coordinator Amanda Clark, who walked her through the process and the paperwork from start to finish. Amanda then deliv- ered Nakia’s next blessing, news that she qualified for a roof replace- ment. From that point, the roof was replaced in about three weeks. “I feel so blessed that DC came when they did. The process was stress-free and Amanda was hands- on and courteous in getting me what I needed to repair my roof. I was saving and paying for renova- tions myself, but I needed a bless- ing because I didn’t have $20,000 for a new roof,” said Nakia. “DC is a great service to the com- munity. They’re not only helping with home repairs, but they’re also out there doing community clean- ups and events, and helping resi- dents be proactive and involved,” Nakia said.
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