An Emergency Home Repair in Real Time

When extreme weather conditions expose unsafe and unhealthy housing, Helping Hands responds. Together, we build belonging by keeping people safe and at home.

Last week, Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity’s Helping Hands home repair staff responded to an emergency repair (ERMAR) for a homeowner facing unsafe and unhealthy living conditions during sub-zero temperatures. These are the moments when our community’s support can make an incredible impact on our neighbors. Together, we build belonging.

The repair request came from a mobile homeowner who is an older adult living with disabilities. A November windstorm damaged the home, which is located near the northeast corner of the mobile home park, exposing it to the strongest winds in the area. During the storm, the wind lifted the home’s vinyl siding and tore off a 25-foot section with it.

Although the trailer was built in 2000, no sheathing was installed behind the siding. When the siding came off, the insulation was also damaged, leaving only drywall between the homeowner and the freezing temperatures.

What our team is doing
This week, four IVHFH staff and AmeriCorps members are removing the damaged siding, replacing insulation, and sealing the hole with OSB sheathing and weather-resistant, waterproof house wrap. This will stabilize the home and protect it from the elements this winter. When warmer weather comes in the spring, IVHFH will install new siding.

Winter Conditions Risk Belonging
Winter is frustrating for everyone—snow, bitter wind, and wind chills below zero. We’ve experienced how uncomfortable it is to be outside. For most of us, relief comes when we are back home.

Imagine home is a space where freezing air seeps through the walls. Imagine trying to sleep, cook, or stay warm when your home is exposed to winter conditions. For an older homeowner living with a disability, exposure to these conditions poses a significant health and safety risk.

While no children live in this home, consider the scenario: What would this situation be like for a family with children?

• How would they sleep, study, or play?
• How would a cold, restless night affect their next school day—or a parent’s work performance the following day?

Emergency repairs affect every part of daily life.

Together, We Build Belonging—By Keeping People Home
Helping Hands is a life preserver. Home repairs prevent displacement by addressing urgent repairs that threaten health, safety, and housing stability.

Emergency repairs protect dignity. They protect stability. And they ensure a home, a neighborhood, a community, remain places of belonging even when the unexpected happens. Together, we build belonging. Belonging begins with a safe, healthy place to live.

How You Can Help
Winter emergencies can’t wait—and neither do we.
Every gift makes a difference. Even $10 or $20 helps ensure we can respond quickly when some of our most vulnerable neighbors need urgent repairs. Or you can help by sharing this story, so more homeowners know Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity is here to help.

Together, we build belonging—one repair, one home, one neighbor at a time.