History

Westminster Presbyterian Disaster Assistance began in May 2010, after Nashville was hit by a major flood. During the two years Westminster worked on disaster recovery, more than 1,800 volunteers donated almost 70,000 hours of direct assistance, with an impact of $2.6 million. 

Through this extended project, we learned a lot, we got to know our neighbors, and we realized that many older Nashvillians had home repair and maintenance needs beyond what was damaged by the flood. When the flood repairs we were working on were completed, we began to shift our focus from disaster recovery to critical home repairs. In February 2013, we incorporated as Westminster Home Connection, with one employee.

By 2017, Westminster was working on more than 200 homes each year, and had an inhouse construction manager, as well as a team of subcontractors.

In 2018, we received a one-time $1 million grant to expand our work to 14 Middle Tennessee counties. By 2022, we were able to replace that one-time grant with ongoing donations from individuals and foundations, and continue our work. Today, we work in seven middle Tennessee counties and complete projects in about 250 homes per year.

Recently, we have seen an increase in the number of applications for our services. This is testament to the incredible need for critical home repairs within our older adult community, and also the growing recognition that there is a solution. We are actively building capacity to meet this increased demand head-on.

One of our primary focuses is to build the capacity of our construction team by establishing a pipeline of skilled tradespeople. We are forging relationships with area trade schools to identify individuals who are eager to join our team, learn new skills, and make a difference in the lives of our neighbors.

Additionally, we're leveraging the power of volunteers to maximize our impact. We have several dedicated volunteer groups that are always looking for opportunities to lend a helping hand. As these groups complete more and more of our volunteer-friendly jobs, such as ramp building, they build their skills and we free up our construction team's time to tackle more complex and longer-term projects.

We continue to actively engage with community and neighborhood groups, as well as faith-based organizations, to explore opportunities for them to replicate our model in their communities.