SALISBURY — Rowan Helping Ministries is on the receiving end of $80,000 from a Lowe’s Home Improvement program. The funding will facilitate renovations to the organization’s transitional housing complex.

The Salisbury-based organization was selected as part of the 2024 Lowes Hometowns program, a five-year, $100 million commitment to rebuild and revitalize community spaces nationwide.

As one of 100 community projects in 2024 that make up this year’s grant recipients, the Lowe’s Hometowns grant will support the renovation of Eagle’s Nest I and II, the two oldest transitional housing buildings on Rowan Helping Ministries’ campus.

“What this grant will support is replacing the vinyl siding on all these units, replacing the flooring and doing some cosmetic upgrades such as doorways, windows and that sort of thing,” said Leslie Cabagnot, Rowan Helping Ministries grant writer. “A lot of these things have reached the end of their useful life. We are trying to spruce things up.”

The Eagle’s Nest transitional housing program was Rowan County’ first transitional housing program and was created to provide homeless individuals and families a safe and supportive environment in which they could become self-sufficient and work towards securing permanent housing. 

“If residents have a safe, comfortable, beautiful and dignified place to live as they work towards independence, it’s good for their mental health and self-esteem,” Cabagnot said. “We want them to live in an attractive and pleasant environment.”

Since this program was started in 1997, hundreds of Eagle’s Nest guests, through hard work and perseverance, have successfully achieved independence and broken the cycle of homelessness.

“We have had tons of people who have gone through our transitional housing program,” Cabagnot said. “Some are veterans in our (Veterans Affairs) programs. Some are nonveterans who live in our transitional housing. A lot of them have battled homelessness for a long time, and they come to us with complex problems.

“Our staff walks alongside them to help them resolve those issues to get into permanent and sustainable housing.”

The Eagle’s Nest complex has been such a success for Rowan Helping Ministries that the organization recently completed an Eagle’s Nest 3 to continue its work with the area’s unhoused population. 

Since launching in 2022, the Lowe’s Hometowns grant program has renovated 149 community centers, affordable housing facilities, shelters and food pantries; refurbished 15 first responder and veteran/military family facilities; and built and improved 54 community gardens, parks and playgrounds — among many other impactful projects.

This year’s Lowe’s Hometowns projects benefit 87 communities across 44 states and Washington, D.C., and will address needs specific to each community, from housing and community centers to outdoor spaces and facilities for first responders and veterans. Each project will receive a grant from Lowe’s to make physical improvements that help local organizations continue to make a meaningful impact in their communities. At the core of this commitment are Lowe’s red vest associates, who share a passion for giving back to their communities and provide support to every Lowe’s Hometowns project.