Residents of Covington’s Eastside neighborhood are prepping for the April 20 Rock the Block event, which will see about 270 volunteers performing home repairs throughout the neighborhood.
Rock the Block is an event held every two years by the Greater Cincinnati branch of Habitat for Humanity, whose service area encompasses Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties as well as counties in Ohio and Indiana.
“This is an extension of our repair program,” said Erin Kelly, Habitat for Humanity’s volunteer program manager, at a meeting of the Eastside Neighborhood Association on Wednesday.
Habitat for Humanity, known for its home-building program in which volunteers either build new homes or rehab old ones, started Rock the Block in Newport in 2016. Newport is the only other city where Rock the Block has happened in the Northern Kentucky region.
In addition, before the consolidation of smaller Habitat for Humanity branches under the Greater Cincinnati umbrella in 2013, the former Northern Kentucky branch built its first home in Covington.
Sarah Reynolds, Habitat for Humanity’s communications and marketing manager, reiterated Kelly’s point that even though Habitat for Humanity is known for its home rehab program, the smaller repairs that will occur on April 20 fit well into the organization’s mission of providing more affordable housing options for people.
“I’m so thankful for Rock the Block,” said Mary Rice, an Eastside resident, at Wednesday’s meeting, “for the simple reason I’ve been arguing with the City of Covington about a tree in my yard. They told me if I cut it down, they would haul it away. That wasn’t happening, so I called a guy from Rock the Block, and he said ‘Don’t worry about it Miss Rice. We’ll take care of it.'”
The event itself will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. Volunteers will meet at the Kenton County Government Center in the morning for a short kick-off at around 8:30 a.m. and then take shuttle buses to the Eastside to perform repairs and exterior improvements for about 20 properties in the neighborhood. Mayor Joe Meyer and Covington’s Neighborhood Services Director Brandon Holmes will attend the morning kick-off.
The work itself will include trash pick up, planting, landscaping, painting and other minor exterior home repairs, focusing mostly on houses between Trevor Street and 15th Street. Parking will be shut down in front of the houses, and Wheeler Street and 13th Street will be closed to thru traffic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Signs will be posted warning travelers to take detours, and drivers who frequent the area should plan accordingly.
Since its 2016 inception, Rock the Block events have performed repairs on 226 houses and community projects altogether, with over 3,000 volunteers in 10 communities throughout the tri-state.
Kelly encouraged people to reach out if they wanted work done on their homes but didn’t act in time to benefit from Rock the Block.
“We have a very in-depth repair program, and lots of money for both veterans and those 60+ years old is in place,” Kelly said, adding that applications for various services were available for interested parties.
“For many years, Habitat has worked to preserve affordable homeownership in the NKY region through our Critical Repair Programs and we are on track to significantly expand those programs,” said Joe Hansbauer, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati in an email. “Rock the Block has been a wonderful avenue to reengage with the community and its leaders as we look to create new homeownership opportunities in Covington that are truly affordable for hardworking families.”
People interested in volunteering and businesses interested in sponsoring the event should visit the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati’s dedicated webpage. They can also contact Erin Kelly directly at erin.kelly@habitatcincinnati.org.
People interested in learning more about or applying for Habitat for Humanity’s services can visit the organization’s programs webpage.