photo by: Joselyn King

Steve Suhler, left, and Mary Suhler speak with Wheeling City Councilwoman Connie Cain during the “Stronger Together: 9-11 Care and Repair Project” thank you ceremony Thursday in Wheeling City Council Chambers.

A September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance Grant has helped at least 11 households so far in Ohio County to get needed upgrades to their home.

The grant is a federal funding opportunity through Americorps. The Ritchietown Renaissance historical restoration group applied for the money and received the maximum $15,000 to do construction work for people with house issues, explained Ken Sexton, a member of the Ritchietown Renaissance.

On Thursday, volunteers with the “Stronger Together: 9-11 Care and Repair Project” gathered in Wheeling City Council chambers to receive a collective thank you. Homeowners, meanwhile, received plaques and a compiled history of their home to note the historic restoration of the property.

The grant money was received at the start of summer prior to the June 14 flooding in Triadelphia and Valley Grove, and homes in South Wheeling, North Wheeling and Wheeling Island were initially targeted. The group later expanded its reach into the flooded area, Sexton said.

One of the conditions of the grant is that the group have at least 50 volunteers available to call on to do the work.

“The idea of the grant is that they want 9/11 to become a day of service, not mourning,” he continued. “If they meet guidelines, we go in and help them make repairs. So far it has been pretty good. We’ve helped 10 people.”

Volunteers have helped to replace steps that were falling down. They’ve also installed new windows where plastic sheeting had been placed over broken glass, Sexton noted.

New lighting has been placed by the volunteers, and they have fixed clogged plumbing.

He explained the Ritchietown Renaissance is a preservation group that focuses on South Wheeling brick and mortar buildings. Sharon David, a former AmeriCorps employee serving locally, alerted them to the grant opportunity.

“We saw the need in South Wheeling, and in other areas where there were older homes,” Sexton said. “A lot of times the older homes have more needs because of age. We went to the areas where we could do the most good.”

Funding for AmeriCorps was cut off earlier this year by the Trump administration.

“But we did get the grant,” Sexton explained. “A lot of grants are being cut, but we would like this to be a yearly thing. We will seek yearly support and annual funding. We had to cut off the program because we had so many requests. When this came out, I didn’t think we would get this kind of response. It was unbelievable the number of people who submitted applications.”

Those interested in applying to participate in a potential future round of projects or volunteering should email wheelingks@gmail.com.