Behind the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site lies the newly refurbished home of Patricia McCullum, mother of three.

McCullum’s home didn’t always look like this. The kitchen didn’t have a fresh coat of lime-green paint. The porch wasn’t always usable. And the basement wasn’t guaranteed to be water-free.

The rundown house next door, currently owned by a construction company, had been sold two or three times in the past few years and was damaging McCullum’s. “No one would take responsibility for it,” she says.

Due to water and debris funneling directly onto her property from the leaning roof of the home next door, McCullum’s porch had collapsed, her basement had flooded, and she was worried about a crumbling kitchen wall connecting to the alley parallel to her residence. As the wall began to wither away, so did her appliances and cabinets.

With the passing of her oldest son in 2007, not only was her life falling apart, but her home seemed to be slipping away as well.

With bills to pay and a house that was slowly becoming unsafe to live in, McCullum turned to her neighbors for help. One neighbor suggested that she look into a program that would help her refurbish and repair her home.

The little-known Single Family Residential Rehabilitation Program (SFRRP) was exactly what McCullum had been looking for. The city program is part of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and has been operating for more than two decades. The program began as the Senior Citizens Home and Repair Improvement Fund, and has since been renamed and expanded to include more D.C. residents.

According to Michael Kelly, the director of DHCD, the SFRRP has the ability, by providing funding of up to $75,000 through grants and loans, to refurbish or repair homes that are unsafe to live in or that have health hazards or code violations.

“For some residents, it’s the impact of receiving grant funding for repairs which helps them remain in their homes,” Kelly says. “It’s important for someone who has spent years in their home to stay in a place where they feel connected and can … live out their lives without the fear of being forced to leave because their home isn’t safe.

“Despite the overall economic growth the city has experienced recently, it’s becoming more and more difficult for some residents to maintain their homes,” Kelly adds. “The SFRRP provides homeowners who have limited financial resources an opportunity to make the necessary repairs to remain in a comfortable, livable environment. By staying in the home, the homeowner remains part of the community and the property does not become an isolated blight affecting the neighborhood. The program can improve the quality of life for all District residents with each rehabilitation project it completes."

The program certainly has its work cut out. The SFRRP has made more than 16,000 grants and loans to households in the District since inception, but according to DHCD statistics, there are currently 1,152 abandoned homes in D.C., of which 426 are considered “blighted”--they pose serious safety hazards and need to be fixed.

At least one homeowner is satisfied, however. After fresh concrete was poured to repair her porch, the basement was waterproofed, and the kitchen was restored, McCullum felt back at home. Her project, entirely covered by the SFRRP, was estimated to cost $8,000.

McCullum can now enjoy raising her family in a house she can feel at home in, with only one concern left. “I hope something gets done about the house next door before it gets set on fire.”