Volunteers repair dozens of homes for free in Lincoln Village

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - Hundreds of volunteers are helping out homeowners on Milwaukee's southside this weekend by repairing their homes at no cost to them.

Revitalize Milwaukee is hosting Block Build MKE in the Lincoln Village neighborhood this year. More than 400 volunteers are working on 27 homes between Hayes and Arthur Ave. Friday and Saturday.

"I am having my porch redone, my bathroom redone so I can have a walk-in shower, because I can't lift my legs over the tub," homeowner Thomas Brown said.

Brown is one of the homeowners who qualified for the repairs this weekend. He is grateful for the program because making the repairs himself was too expensive. He is a veteran on disability.

"I was worried about the porch collapsing and somebody walking on it," Brown said. "I'm just thankful that they are here."

CEO of Revitalize Milwaukee Lynnea Katz-Petted has worked to find qualified homeowners in Lincoln Village since January. Funding for this project comes mostly from private donations.

"We have $45,000 from the city right now and so we raise the money from the community," Petted said.

Revitalize MKE has been doing the block party for 18 years, repairing more than 6,500 homes. 

"We do 400 a year in total, but this is our biggest one-day project. We do a number of houses every single day," Petted said. 

Volunteers are focusing mostly on kitchens, bathrooms and stairs. The volunteers come from multiple organizations including Milwaukee Tool, Tri City National Bank and Continental Properties.

Petted wants to make homes more accessible.

"Making sure somebody can get in and out of their bathtub is really important to us and so we're taking out a couple bathtubs and putting walk-in showers," Petted said. "They're just trying to get by and sometimes these big projects just get away from them."

Volunteers are aiming to finish up all 27 homes by 5 p.m. Saturday. 

If you are interested to see if you qualify to have your own home repaired through Revitalize MKE, click here.