R3 to Partner with Resilience Cayman for a new Housing Repair Programme
George Town, Grand Cayman: The R3 Cayman Foundation is pleased to announce Resilience Cayman as its partner to begin work on a new housing repair programme supported by a CI$1.5 million grant from the Cayman Islands Government Ministry of Investment, Innovation & Social Development.
Resilience Cayman will manage and operate the programme to inspect and repair Caymanian-owned homes previously damaged by storms or otherwise unable to withstand future natural disasters.
Resilience Cayman Chairperson Jan Gupta says the programme is responding to a pressing need in the community:
“Resilience Cayman is thrilled to partner with Government and R3 on this much-needed initiative that will expand the number of homes eligible for housing repairs assistance. Many low-income Caymanians, including families with children, are living in homes that are severely damaged,” Gupta said. “As a relatively new non-profit that began in 2020 to address community needs during the COVID crisis, we are honoured to be selected to run this new programme that will improve the lives of many Caymanians. Our team is gearing up to assist as many eligible families as we can before this year’s storm season."
R3 Chairman Bryan Hunter said the foundation has supported Resilience Cayman in in relation to their food, utilities and rent support programmes to assist those who have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and has every confidence that they will be able to carry out the housing repairs programme effectively and efficiently.
He added, “This new programme aims to speed up the delivery of urgently needed repairs to the most vulnerable in our community – families with children who don’t know if the next storm will be the one to leave them homeless.”
Hunter says that R3 has policies and procedures in place to ensure that the NPOs R3 supports are well-run organisations with strong financials and governance standards. For large donations, such as the one in this case, we also build in appropriate oversight provisions in our donation agreement with the relevant NPO to ensure the donation will be effectively applied in accordance with its intended purpose.
The $1.5 million donation from the government to R3 was matched by the Kenneth B. Dart Foundation, its largest matching donation to date. The matching funds are unrestricted, allowing R3 to use the additional $1.5 million towards other programmes in the areas of readiness, relief, and recovery, as determined by its independent, unpaid Board of Directors.
Mark VanDevelde, CEO of Dart, said: “The Kenneth B Dart Foundation’s founding contribution to the R3 Foundation and commitment to match a further CI$4M will continue to move the country towards sustainable economic and environmental development. The unrestricted nature of the matched funds for the CI Government grant will support R3’s readiness, relief and recovery efforts across multiple projects. By pooling our resources and expertise under the stewardship of the R3 Foundation, the private sector can continue to leverage its strengths to complement the Government’s efforts and continue to make an invaluable contribution to each of the three islands preparation, response and resilience in times of emergency.”
How the Programme Works
The programme provides a one-time grant for home rehabilitation to qualified households. The Ministry of Investment, Innovation & Social Development will be referring to Resilience Cayman a significant number of cases that it believes qualify for the Resilience Cayman programme. Resilience Cayman will then evaluate each of those cases to determine whether it qualifies for its programme and will not be accepting any additional applications unless it determines that the referred cases which qualify for its programme are insufficient to fully utilise the available funding. Eligible repairs may include structural, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, roofs, improved accessibility, fire safety and other safety-related enhancements that help individuals stay in their homes.
“In evaluating the cases that have been referred to us, one of our objectives will be to prioritise urgent repairs to homes based on the applicant's financial standing and the relevant property's condition,” Gupta explained. “Resilience Cayman has a rating system in place to prioritise homeowners who are elderly, disabled, or otherwise vulnerable, and those with young children in the household. There is a single application per household, and homeowners are required to sign a contract stating they will live in their homes after the repairs are completed.”
Resilience Cayman will be responsible for vetting each household and verifying all required documentation, such as house title, mortgage documents and available insurance coverage. Properties in foreclosure are not eligible.
Resilience Cayman will purchase materials directly from approved suppliers to reduce the overhead cost in each home repair. A selected number of local contractors will receive an invitation to quote for labour costs. The housing repair grant is paid directly to the contractors and service providers, and the completed work has to pass an inspection by a licensed inspector; no cash is provided to the applicant.
The controls around disbursement of funds to contractors, materials suppliers and service providers are supervised by Resilience Cayman’s board, and a proper progress reporting process is in place with the government and R3 to ensure full transparency for the programme.
About Resilience Cayman
Resilience Cayman was formed in 2020 in response to COVID19 to address the immediate and long-term issue of financial insecurity for many workers who have been hit hard through job loss and business closures. Since April 2020, Resilience Cayman has provided food and utilities assistance to more than 3,300 families in the form of food vouchers, daily meals, and CUC relief. We have also provided summer internship opportunities and grants to 35 young Caymanian college students to ensure that they are able to continue their education and develop workplace skills for their future careers. More information about Resilience is available at www.resilience.ky