New London ― For the past 34 years, one woman has been at the forefront of a local non-profit organization dedicated to restoring old homes and then selling them to low and moderate income families.

She’s applied for grants, worked with tenants, hired contractors, obtained permits and performed a myriad of other tasks involved in renovating and selling homes.

But now Marilyn Graham, the executive director of HOPE Inc. and its sole employee, plans to retire.

She has been with the organization since its inception and leaves behind a legacy of more than 30 homes across the city.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” Graham said, adding she feels successful in having sold good homes to good people and their families and children.

In the late 1980s, Graham was a mother of three who devoted most of her time to serving the Mystic Congregational Church. She was a trustee, a deacon and a moderator.

Graham recalled her pastor suggested the congregation get involved in addressing needs in the community. Fellow parishioner Preston Jump had started HOPE, a non-profit to address housing needs, and in 1989, he hired Graham as a grant writer despite the fact that she had never written a grant.

Graham said she learned over time and worked with Pat Hendel, the first executive director who left a few years later. Graham wanted to keep the organization going and stayed.

She admitted to having trouble selling the first few houses. Then the city gave HOPE the opportunity to acquire some houses on Belden Street that it had taken by foreclosure.

Belden Street back then was riddled with abandoned homes that were not being maintained by their landlords. The street now is the organization’s “pride and joy,” said Graham with 20 homes it has renovated.

HOPE Inc. has restored and renovated most of the properties on Belden using housing tax credits and selling the homes to often first-time home buyers with low incomes and good credit. Graham said Eversource has been HOPE’s main donor, investing $6 million in tax credits over the last 30 years.

Graham said she owes the organization’s success to its wonderful board of directors of bankers and attorneys who really care about housing. She has been HOPE’s only employee so she relied on the help of the board and good contractors.

Architect Peter Springsteel, a board member for 30 years and its chairman said Graham was the one who got him to join, telling him HOPE was in need of an architect.

“Marilyn has been the face of HOPE for 34 years and has poured all her energy into the organization,” he said. “As the only employee, she deals with tenants, writes grants and communicates with the city, agencies and contractors― she wears a lot of hats.”

Springsteel said he’ll miss Graham but is sure she’ll stay in touch.

Graham is currently training her replacement Stacey Smith and plans to retire June 1.

Graham has spearheaded other successful programs at HOPE. Graham said she got the idea for its Rent to Own program from Rev. Fred Reynard who formerly served at Mystic Congregational Church. The program allows eligible participants to rent an affordable apartment with $100 from each rent payment being placed in a savings account to go towards the eventual purchase of a home.

Graham added HOPE also sponsored a nine-week home repair workshop that taught participants about plumbing, electrical and carpentry work with the help of community volunteers.

Graham’s daughter Laura said she is proud of her mother for doing something she loved and helping people realize their dreams of home ownership.

Laura said it was a thrill going to see the ribbon cuttings for the completed houses and seeing how happy the families getting the homes were.

“It shows the power of what one person can make in our small corner of the world and how inspiring that is,” Laura Graham said.

j.vazquez@theday.com