Wynnton Neighborhood Housing Inc. helping revamp area

Positive change is happening in the East Wynnton neighborhood of Columbus, and it might not have come about if not for Hurricane Katrina.

In 2005, several members of Wynnton United Methodist Church made 10 trips to Gulfport, Miss., to help Habitat For Humanity build houses and repair homes that were severely damaged during the devastating storm.

Upon finishing, four individuals decided to keep working. They got together and asked the question, "What can we do for Columbus?"

In 2007, Wynnton Neighborhood Housing Inc. was formed, and in 2008, it received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

Since its beginning, the organization has built 11 houses in the East Wynnton area, rehabilitated six others and completed repairs on 20 more.

Professionals build the houses and do the repair work.

"We have really made a difference," said Suzanne Supple, the organization's executive secretary.

A Realtor involved since the start, Supple said the improvements are making the area a more pleasant and safer place to live. She said that, without the organization's assistance, many living in substandard housing could not improve their living conditions.

Don McCollum, a retired chemical engineer, was the founding president and is a member of the 15-member board, a third of whom live in East Wynnton. McCollum said places that were a haven for drug dealers have been cleaned up. "We are moving good people in," he said.

The organization defines East Wynnton as an area from Wynnton Road on the north to Buena Vista Road on the south, and from Rigdon Road on the east to Brown Avenue on the west.

A focus is placed on one or two streets at a time. Currently, those are Thomas and 10th streets.

A ribbon-cutting for the newest house on 10th Street was Wednesday.

Proverbs: 19:17 says, "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deeds." McCollum and Supple feel the organization is doing God's work here.

The organization is not connected to Wynnton United Methodist Church, but McCollum said several of its members make generous donations, as do other churches in the city.

And the donations are needed.

Speaking of homes being repaired for the elderly, McCollum remarked, "you would not believe the conditions in which some people on a fixed income live."

He said work was recently done on a house where termite damage caused the floor to cave in, with the furniture falling through to the ground.

Electrical and plumbing work, roof repairs and the replacing of rotten woodwork are done on homes.

Supple said the repairs let the elderly stay in their homes.

"People can take pride in their homes and their community," she said.

The houses the organization sells go to first-time homebuyers.

To afford to build houses, the organization has formed a partnership with the city of Columbus' Home Reinvestment Division.

Wynnton Neighborhood Housing receives grants from the department to build the houses and then, when the house is sold, the money is reimbursed.

McCollum said funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"We are selling houses to moderate- and low-income people, so a big problem we have is getting their credit scores up so they can get a loan," Supple said.

That not only goes for the houses the organization builds, but also for the abandoned and foreclosed houses it buys, renovates and sells.

"We're working to change the East Wynnton neighborhood," McCollum said. "We are doing it one house at a time."

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Wynnton Neighborhood Housing Inc. helping revamp area."