JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Organizations on Jacksonville's Eastside are working to make sure residents who've lived in their homes for decades are able to stay in them.
Nearly 60 homes have now been restored, allowing for many families and possibly their future generations to remain in their homes. Organizers running the Eastside Restore and Repair Program say it's their biggest anti-displacement tool.
"The Eastside is a special place because it's one of those unique places in Jacksonville where you have people who've been in their homes for 50, 60, 70 years," said Travis Williams, chief operating officer with Lift Jax.
To understand the effort behind restoring the homes piece by piece, you'd have to understand the Eastside's history and its people.
"It was a place of refuge for African Americans, historically has been that,” Williams said. “We want it to remain that place of refuge."
Williams is now helping the people who raised him: his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
"I'm a fourth generation Eastsider,” Williams told First Coast News. “And so many of my ancestors in generations past were born in this neighborhood or migrated here at a very young age."
Williams says the organizations are planning to restore hundreds of homes over coming years so that people like Karan George can stay in them. George has lived on her street for more than 60 years.
"I do intend to leave it for my children when I leave this world,” George said. “It's home to them and it's home to me."
George isn't sure about what every repair will be, but she does know it means she'll be able to pass it all on to her children.
"Oh I appreciate it, believe me,” George said about the program. “I'm thrilled to death."
Two years ago, not long after the program began, First Coast News spoke with Bobby Graham who grew up in the home he currently lives in and is able to continue living in because of the restorations.
"Our home repair program is our biggest anti-displacement tool in our toolkit to really maintain attainable and affordable housing and also wealth building," Williams said. "A home is generally a person's biggest asset that they own that they can pass on."
Partners in the program include Lift Jax, the Historic Eastside Community Development Corporation, Local Initiative Support Corporation, the United Way of Northeast Florida and JEA.
Learn more about the program here.