Electricians repair more than a dozen homes to those in need in St. Louis City, County

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - For the 20th year, a group of IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection volunteers repaired electrical hazards and made improvements to low-income homes in St. Louis and St. Louis County.

On Saturday morning, 150 electricians and more than 20 electrical contractors improved 17 low-income homes for the non-profit Rebuilding Together St. Louis.

Frederick’s home was one of them.

“I feel blessed,” Frederick said. “I feel like I hit the lottery to tell you the truth.”

Frederick’s house had light fixtures, fans and electrical outlets replaced.

“I had some health problems, and I wasn’t able to keep up with all of the different little things that happen to a house,” Frederick said. “When you have a house, you have to maintain it. With me having the health problems I had, I wasn’t able to keep up with it, so they straightened it all out for me.”

It’s something IBEW Local One has been doing for the last two decades.

Member Richard Jenkins says the electrical repairs help veterans and low-income families in need across the metro.

“That just can’t take care of their homes or do the things that they used to be able to do, so we just want to come out here today and help these people out,” Jenkins said. “It’s just our way of giving back.”

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local One partners with the St. Louis Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to support the annual effort.

With inflation making things more costly, Jenkins says this is one more thing crews can take off these homeowners’ plates.

“These are things that they cost some money,” Jenkins said. “Some are very expensive and very costly. It’s just going in and helping these people out and giving them that opportunity to get these things done and not have to worry about the expense.”

Since 2003, the IBEW/NECA Electrical Connection partnership has donated more than $2.3 million in labor and materials to repair more than 585 homes for low-income, disabled, and elderly St. Louisans served by Rebuilding Together.

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