Jose Garcia leads an organization whose mission fits in one sentence: repair homes, revitalize communities, rebuild lives. As CEO of Rebuilding Together Greater Florida, he tells the hosts that the work rarely wraps up quickly, noting that as recently as this past August his team was still spending funding to help homeowners impacted by Hurricane Irma, a storm that hit back in 2017.
Garcia walks through how the organization operates after a disaster, waiting until it's safe before sending volunteers and contractors in to assess a home, then prioritizing the essentials that let a family move back in: a working roof, weatherized windows, one working bathroom and kitchen, rather than a full renovation. The goal, he explains, is keeping families from paying a mortgage on a home they can't live in while also renting somewhere else, a financial squeeze that can unravel a household fast.
The conversation turns pointed when Garcia describes the tradeoffs his organization has to make, sometimes walking away from homes too far gone with mold because the money helps more families elsewhere. He also details how homeowners never have to repay the organization, instead contributing sweat equity, and how Rebuilding Together partners directly with contractors like Strong Roofing when a home needs a full roof replacement rather than a patch.
Garcia traces the organization back to a Super Bowl-era origin in Tampa in 2000, and reflects on his own path from Venezuela to Washington D.C. to Florida, before settling into a region that now includes Sarasota. He closes with concrete hurricane prep advice, his own roundabout story from the Canary Islands, and recommendations for two more Sarasota nonprofit leaders worth having on the show.
Choosing Repair Over Rebuilding
Garcia draws a clear distinction between Rebuilding Together's approach and organizations focused on new construction, arguing that repair dollars simply stretch further for families who just need their existing home made livable again rather than an entirely new structure. That philosophy shapes every decision the organization makes about where its limited funding goes each storm season.
He also describes the emotional weight of the work, recalling homeowners who broke down in tears simply because their family could finally move back under one roof after months of separation following a storm. Those stories, more than any statistic, are what Garcia says keeps his team chasing funding year after year, storm after storm, across Rebuilding Together Greater Florida's growing footprint, including the homes still being repaired closer to Sarasota.
What you'll take away
- Rebuilding Together Greater Florida repairs homes for low-income homeowners after disasters, at no cost to them.
- The organization was still funding Hurricane Irma repairs as recently as this past August, eight years after the storm.
- Homes with roofs 15 years or older are prioritized for full replacement rather than patch repairs.
- Garcia says $100,000 can repair roughly eight roofs through his organization versus building one new Habitat home.
- The nonprofit partners directly with local contractors, including Strong Roofing, for major repair work.
“Our mission is repair homes, revitalize communities, rebuild lives.”
“It's very sad to see it, but for the next five to ten years we're going to be dealing with all these impacted homeowners.”