For Immediate Release
Paul Robinson
RISE Executive Director
(757) 258-0500
paulrobinson@riseresilience.org

 (April 10, 2020) Norfolk, Virginia -RISE joins Resilient Enterprise Solutions (RES) to announce the launch of America’s first Home Raising Academy to begin training contractors on April 14, 2020 in the Hampton Roads region of coastal Virginia. 
 
The Home Raising Academy delivers home elevation education to general contractors and builds a professional workforce able to respond to the increasing demand for protecting coastal properties with affordable and attractive solutions. 

The rates of sea level rise are increasing nationwide, and many communities are more eager now to make plans to protect their coastal properties, both public and private. “Funded as one of our six winners of the 2019 RISE Coastal Community Resilience Challenge, this first-of-its-kind workforce training will launch in Hampton Roads and will upskill general contractors and create jobs that reduce the cost of home elevations,” said Paul Robinson, RISE’s Executive Director.
 
The launch is well-timed. The nation is in the midst of a pandemic with many construction professionals sheltering at home, which could be a beneficial time to undertake on-line professional development – especially in a new industry growing fast along the Eastern Seaboard.

The Academy trainees will learn strategies for elevation, financing and outreach, and the persuasive power of rising flood insurance rates for those homeowners who do not mitigate their flood risk.
 
“After elevating 1,500 homes in multiple states, I’ve learned the secret to elevation is more than quality construction and design — it’s also offering finance options for homeowners,” said Academy principal instructor, Roderick Scott.
 
“The biggest wave that is going to come and drive people in coastal flood zones out of their homes is not a wave of seawater, it is a wave of increasing flood insurance premiums. Home elevation is a way to preserve or increase the value of your family’s most significant asset – your home,” said John Sargent, RES CEO.
 
About RES
Resilient Enterprise Solutions is an innovative, first-to-market company that addresses the need for home elevation and flood-proofing on a preventative rather than post-disaster basis. 
 
About RISE
RISE is a non-profit, economic development organization with a mission to accelerate innovation and business growth around solutions to coastal communities’ resilience challenges. RISE provides businesses resources to develop, test and scale the next generation resilience solutions for coastal communities.