After years of struggle, approximately 28 low-to-moderate income homeowners of the Hobson community’s Upper Village, located in the City of Suffolk, VA, will be able to connect to the City’s public water system, thanks to substantial grant assistance from SERCAP. As previously stated in an update from January 1, 2018, SERCAP has been working with the residents of Hobson’s Upper Village, over the course of several years, in order to help them gain reliable access to clean, safe drinking water by fully restoring stable water service to the community. The Hobson Artesian Well Association, which provided water for the community for years, has struggled for some time with issues related to capacity and compliance with state and federal drinking water regulations.

On Wednesday, November 28, 2018, SERCAP’s Virginia State Manager participated in the Equitable Economies Panel Discussion, as an invited Panelist, at the 2nd Annual Advancing the Human Condition Symposium at Virginia Tech. The Equitable Economies Panel focused primarily on Water/Wastewater Infrastructure both in the United States and abroad, covering specific topics, including: contamination, aging and failing infrastructure, accessibility issues, disaster recovery of infrastructure systems, and the link between access to water/wastewater facilities and poverty.

SERCAP is full of dedicated, selfless individuals hoping to make our communities healthier, stronger, and better places for all. One of these incredible individuals is Randy Welch!

In the States Series, SERCAP is highlighting recent projects and the work the agency is doing in each state in its service region.

SERCAP’s VFC Alternative Break Program is a community service program which partners with Colleges/Universities and Community Host Sites to match civic-minded Student Volunteers with engaging service-learning opportunities during traditional school breaks. This program year, during their Fall Break in October 2018, students from Emory & Henry College travelled north to Fishersville in Augusta County, VA, to team-up with the Alleghany Mountain Institute (AMI) in order to immerse themselves in a truly grass-roots service-learning experience.

Currently, SERCAP is providing Housing Rehabilitation Specialist Services to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Construction Improvement Grant (CIG) Project for the East Atlantic Street Neighborhood in the City of Emporia, VA. SERCAP was selected as the Housing Rehabilitation Specialist for the project in late 2016, and has been diligently working to complete the rehabilitation of 16 investor-owned housing units and two owner-occupied housing units for the past two+ years.

SERCAP’s VFC Alternative Break Program is a service program which partners with Colleges/Universities and Community Host Sites to match civic-minded Student Volunteers with engaging service-learning opportunities during traditional school breaks. This year during their Fall Break, students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, travelled to the Roanoke Valley to team-up with Lick Run Farm and the Rescue Mission in order to provide a variety of services.

Recently, SERCAP’s Housing Department completed an Indoor Plumbing & Rehabilitation (IPR) collaborative project in Fluvanna County, VA. The client, a low-income disabled gentleman, was referred to SERCAP back in September of 2017 by the Fluvanna Housing Foundation, after he experienced difficulty with his well and septic system. Due to the run-down condition of the house and the client’s qualification as Extremely-low Income under the HUD Income Guidelines, the project qualified as a Substantial Reconstruction. However, the cost estimates for the project far exceeded the Virginia Department of Housing & Community Development’s (DHCD) cost limits for a Substantial Reconstruction under the IPR Program.

“Water is Life!” is our motto here at SERCAP, and we serve our communities by helping bring clean water to those without it. For many communities, access to clean water begins and ends with a functional well. One of our main initiatives is private well assessment and loans to repair/replace individual household wells.

A trivia question for you: what has two legs, a great singing voice, and works magic with a spreadsheet? It’s our very own Bob Cole! Able to bend spreadsheets to his will for the good of our work, Bob Cole is a finance wizard and our Director of Finance & Operations here at SERCAP!

Here at SERCAP, our work wouldn’t be possible without a strong team of dedicated individuals serving our community. Beth Pusha is one of our amazing directors, and has been serving with SERCAP for an amazing 26 years!

Beginning in 2016, SERCAP partnered with BB&T Bank to conduct a series of Focus Groups across the Commonwealth of Virginia as a crucial part of SERCAP’s Biannual Community Needs Assessment process. The Biannual Community Needs Assessment allows SERCAP to obtain a true sense of what the rural communities in Virginia struggle with the most and allows the agency to have a real understanding of what the actual needs are, in the localities SERCAP serves.

Currently, SERCAP’s Housing Department working to get a new project approved in Pulaski County, in order to help a low-income, elderly, disabled woman and her daughter to replace their rotting deck. The rotting deck is connected to the main entrance of their home and is a major safety hazard. If the deck were to collapse, anyone standing or sitting on it could be severely injured.

In the State Series, SERCAP is highlighting recent projects and the work being done in each state in the agency's service region.

From the stunning marsh preserves in Delaware to the scenic beaches of Florida, our team at SERCAP serves seven states along the east coast of the United States. These states include Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. In this series, we are going to tell you about some of our favorite things about each state in our seven-state region.

Would you guess that we’d have a Colorado native on our team? We do! Kaylah Crutcher is one of the newest members of the SERCAP team, joining us at the start of this month. Kaylah grew up in Mountain Time with an appreciation for the outdoors, community service, and bringing people together. She came east to attend George Mason University, and has since worked in Washington D.C., New York City, and Roanoke, Virginia.

At SERCAP, we support a diverse group of individuals and communities across our organization’s seven-state region along the east coast of the United States, including: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Did you know that our headquarters is located in Roanoke, Virginia?

At SERCAP, we provide water & wastewater, housing, and community development assistance in an effort to improve the quality of life for individuals, households, and communities.

At SERCAP, we are dedicated to ensuring that all residents of the southeastern United States have adequate access to clean, safe drinking water. For some residents, that starts with a properly-functioning well.

Here at SERCAP, our mission is to improve the quality of life for low-income individuals by promoting affordable water and wastewater facilities, community development, environmental health, and economic self-sufficiency. In order to do so, we encourage donations through our Water is Life Fund. The generosity of our supporters makes the incredible work we do possible, and helps us change the lives of those in our communities.