How Do You Repair a Home on $936 a Month? | Rachel Nelson, Home Repairs for Good

On today's show I sat down with Rachel Nelson, executive director of Home Repairs for Good, an Indianapolis nonprofit that helps older adults (62+) and people with disabilities living on very low incomes (about 30% AMI) stay safely in their homes through free critical repairs inside Marion County's 465 loop. Nelson explains how the organization began in 2013 as NeighborLink Indianapolis when founder Dave Withy and friends did word-of-mouth repairs, often preventing citations, fines, liens, and potential loss of homes. She details their scale (hundreds of repairs annually, including citation-related work), volunteer pathways from low-skill projects to trained gutter and in-home "handy" teams with background checks, and funding through donors, churches, team volunteer donations, and paid subcontracting. Our conversation also covers workforce development through BY Plus with paid jobsite experience, plus a Growth Program that earns revenue via contractor work to sustain free repairs, and future plans to expand aging-ready home modifications. If you like this episode and want to hear more Get IN. episodes where I interview Hoosiers making a difference, visit getindiana.com/podcast. You are going to learn about: - What Home Repairs for Good Is and Who They Serve - Volunteer Opportunities with Home Repairs for Good - How Home Repairs for Good Is Funded - How Home Repairs for Good Helps with Workforce Development  Check out these great clips from the show: 00:00 Mission And Impact 00:27 Guest Introduction: Rachel Nelson, Home Repairs for Good 01:35 The Aging In Place Problem 04:01 How It All Started 05:14 Citation Spiral Example 10:14 Scale And Eligibility 18:07 Growth With Staff 19:44 Funding Without Federal 22:04 Volunteer Paths And Training 27:19 Gutter Team And Handy Volunteers 31:26 Workforce Development Tease 31:58 Trade Worker Shortage 33:01 BY Plus Partnership 33:56 NCCER Basics Explained 35:52 Urban Access Barriers 37:44 Paid Jobsite Expectations 39:00 Legal Aid Support 39:35 Funding The Mission 41:44 Growth Program Model 44:54 Contracting With The City 47:40 Future Aging Ready Homes 49:54 Ways To Get Involved 52:27 Freedom Flyer Eagle 54:10 Favorite Indy Neighborhoods 56:27 Indiana Home Stories 59:14 Hidden Gem Floyds Knobs 01:00:25 Hoosier To Watch 01:02:40 Final Wrap And Thanks Get IN. is brought to you by our friends at Sweetwater. Whether you are looking to start a podcast or level up your current show you need to hit them up.