Nonprofit offers solutions to price repairs for Atlanta homeowners: "Hold on to the legacy"

For some Atlanta homeowners, owning a home does not mean they can afford to keep it in good repair.

As homes age, expensive fixes can put longtime residents in a tough spot.

Home repair organizations from across the country are in Atlanta this week for the ReFrame Conference, looking at how to preserve homes that are already here.

CBS News Atlanta met one homeowner who showed just how quickly a repair problem can turn into a much bigger financial one and the help that allowed her to hold on to her home.

Veronica Jenkins has owned her house in South Atlanta since 2005. About 10 years after purchasing it, she said things started to go wrong inside, and the cost of living piled up quickly.

"My plumbing was backed up and everything. That would cause my water bill to be up the roof, and I had an outstanding water bill. As a matter of fact, it had reached up close to $10,000," said Jenkins.

She said she did not have anyone to turn to for the repairs, and as the problems grew, so did the pressure.

"I didn't have anyone to fix it, but I'm a single parent and never been married. So when all of the challenges came upon me, it had got to be very devastating," said Jenkins.

That's when Nehemiah Project stepped in.

The Atlanta nonprofit found the thousands of dollars she owed were not simply from an unpaid bill.

"We went to her house. We found out that she didn't just owe $10,000 because she didn't pay her bill. She owed $10,000 because she had several leaks in her home, and so what we do is we go in, and we fix that leak, we repair the leak, and then we report back to the city, and they are able to assist with paying that water bill," said Ingrid Thompson, founder and CEO of Nehemiah.

For Jenkins, that help included plumbing and HVAC repairs.

She also said fixing the house is about holding on to what it represents.

"I want to do more things in my home and, you know, have functions and everything with my children and grandchildren - really hold on to the legacy that I was blessed with," she said.

Her story is part of a much bigger housing conversation happening in Atlanta this week at ReFrame.

"What people don't often take into account is that we're developing a lot of affordable housing, building from the ground up, but being able to service our legacy residents, those that live in the community for 40, 50 years, whose homes, of course, age during that time and are not able to effectively pay to get repairs done on their homes," said Thompson.

Preserving affordable housing doesn't always mean building something new. Sometimes it means helping someone hold on to their home.

The ReFrame Conference continues at the Renaissance in Midtown Tuesday.