TEMPLE, Texas — The City of Temple is excited to roll out a new program aimed at improving the quality of life for residents who live there, especially in the older homes that make the city so unique.
"We want to empower these residents to make their own home repairs and to give them the tools to do so," said Kiara Nowlin with the City of Temple. "As a city, we want to improve the quality of life for our residents and we know having a home that people are happy to live in and excited to live in and to be able to empower them is part of that."
The Home Maintenance Academy (HMA) is a hands-on workshop dedicated to teaching people how to make basic home repairs. Some of the repairs being taught include how to change electrical outlets/switches, patching holes in drywall, caulking, grouting, replacing internal toilet components, plumbing, changing air filters and preventative maintenance.
Nowlin said the Home Maintenance Academy is a perfect opportunity to gain a working understanding of their homes and how to maintain them. The city said it felt this was necessary since those who will teach the classes have the knowledge already.
"We know the residents want to develop the community and since have a Housing and Community Development department, I think the department staff came together and realized our residents would really be interested in this idea," she said.
Nowlin said when they rolled out the program, the 15 spaces were scooped up right away, but they are looking forward to hosting more in the future.
"I think they want to make this a yearly thing," she said. "If there's an interest, and it seems like there is, then we will do it year after year."
The city said the best part of the entire academy, outside of the hands-on experience, is that the tools used by those taking the workshop, they get to keep them for at home.
"The really cool aspect about this workshop is that the tools the program participants will use, they will actually get to take those home with them," she emphasized. "Not only will they learn how to make the repairs, they'll be able to learn how to use these tools and literally get to take these tools from the program to their own home."