The true power of the HomeAid model is working with builders and their trades, service providers who serve the homeless, community leaders, and government officials to unite them in a common goal of building dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. When all of these parties come together to form a partnership to achieve this goal, a remarkable feat of community building occurs.  

Working with Boral, a large global Australian building and construction materials company with major businesses in the U.S., HomeAid is part of that company’s “Our People, Our Places and Our Product” community partnership program at several HomeAid developments across the country, including one in Colorado called Colorado Homeless Families.

Colorado Homeless Families’ Community Garden (CHF) project developed and managed by HomeAid Colorado demonstrates how Boral Industries, a HomeAid partner since 2007, made a significant difference in their communities. CHF is a non-profit transitional housing program that serves families with children who are either families who are homeless for the first time, (the “Newly Poor”) or families who earn low wages and cannot keep up with the rising cost of living, including housing, (the “Working Poor”). Recently, HomeAid Colorado, Boral and many other building industry professionals joined forces to construct a Community Garden for the Colorado Homeless Families. Community gardens are a new innovation in sustainable living providing food security for low-income families. In addition, community gardens strengthen community bonds and create educational and recreational opportunities for community members.

Community gardens strengthen community bonds.

 With over 60 volunteers and $15,000 in in-kind donations, HomeAid Colorado completed the Community Garden in just one day! While the passion to help homeless families brought HomeAid Colorado, Boral and Colorado Homeless Families together, the completion of these types of projects relies on the many unseen faces working behind the scenes. Boral is one of the many donors that make HomeAid projects possible.  Boral generously donated masonry blocks and squeegee and delivered them to the project site.  Boral employees also volunteered to help design and build the garden.   HomeAid Colorado and CHF greatly appreciate Boral’s in-kind donation of product along with all their employees who generously volunteered their time and talent to the project.  

While the focus of much of HomeAid’s work in building projects is to help homeless families, these shelters cannot be fully realized without partnerships such as Boral, whose passion for helping others attracts them to aid in HomeAid’s mission.