A home should be a refuge, a place that provides shelter and safety. Too many of our neighbors still struggle to stay healthy, pay their bills, and stay housed. Our collective focus on the importance of refuge gives AHIP’s work greater urgency. Everyone should be safe at home.

But there are still obstacles to overcome: with a persistent shortage of affordable housing, home repair is a vital but often invisible part of protecting under-resourced individuals and families, preserving their health and wealth, and pushing back against gentrification and displacement. We hope that you’ll join us again this year to work toward housing security and a place of refuge for all our neighbors.

Fiscal Year 2025 has been another strong showing for AHIP’s work in the community. As we prepare to enter FY26, we’ve maintained tremendous presence in the community with our construction services, and have safeguarded numerous local families against the perils of housing disrepair. However, looking forward, we would be remiss not to acknowledge new challenges facing our work.

For the second consecutive year, the City of Charlottesville has not allocated any general operational support through the Housing Operations Program Support (HOPS) fund. In addition, the proposed federal “skinny budget” for FY2026 eliminates critical HUD and USDA programs that have historically helped fund AHIP’s essential repair services for vulnerable homeowners.

With these public funding sources becoming more and more inaccessible to organizations like our own, there is still an avenue by which we can ensure these services continue to reach those who need it most: that avenue is you.

Community philanthropy is inextricably linked to AHIP’s history, dating all the way back to our founding by student volunteers from UVA. Private supporters are a key facet of our annual budget, and now more than ever we will be looking to local home repair advocates like yourself to guarantee that critical repairs are addressed in a timely manner.

You can give either a one-time gift or a recurring contribution. Both are greatly appreciated, but we hope you’ll consider becoming a sustaining donor. Ongoing support means we can help more individuals and families more quickly, today and always.