Evaluation of Rebuilding Chicago Together-Metro Chicago's National Rebuilding Day Program
(Spring 2008 - Fall 2010)
Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) conducted an outcomes and process evaluation of National Rebuilding Day (NRD), a one-day program organized by Rebuilding Together – Metro Chicago (RTMC). Through the NRD program, teams of volunteers complete home repair projects in the homes of low-income, disabled, and elderly residents of the metropolitan Chicago area. An affiliate of the national organization, Rebuilding Together, RTMC has been working since 1991 to assist low-income homeowners to maintain their homes and stabilize communities through revitalization projects.
Using a collaborative approach, RTMC and CURL conducted a participatory evaluation to examine the sustainable impact of programming on Chicago communities and participant homeowners. In addition to these outcome objectives, the evaluation included participant surveys with homeowners and volunteers that examined goals and expectations, satisfaction levels, and programming best practices. This study, which focused primarily on NRD sites in the City of Chicago, examined the impact of the NRD program in the years 2006, 2007, and 2008. RTMC worked in Chicago’s westside neighborhood of Austin in 2006, while in 2007 and 2008, RTMC worked in the southside neighborhood of West Englewood.
The evaluation team developed a technical report entitled "An Evaluation of Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago National Rebuilding Day." In addition to this technical report, the evaluation team developed a brief glossy report which Rebuilding Together Metro Chicago disseminates for purposes of fund-raising and garnering sponsorship for upcoming National Rebuilding Day projects.
“I worked forty-two years for the Chicago Board of Mental Health and every break I was patching stuff up [on my house] here and there. I did not have money or time to do the repairs. But now with these major repairs I am confident that it will last another 100 years.”
Research Team:
D. Van Zytveld, CURL
J. Hilvers, CURL
A. Hernandez, Undergraduate Fellow
R. Doelling, Undergraduate Fellow
Community Partner":