“I care about what I’m doing. I’m grateful to have the skills to help someone,” says Kim Thomas. Kim is the owner of Arch Services and has helped FCS through the years with mixed-incoming housing revitalization. Recently, he has become involved in the Senior Home Repair Initiative.
A jack of all trades, Kim uses his contracting expertise to help South Atlanta flourish. Though Kim went to school for marketing, he says he went back for HVAC, electrical, and plumbing and didn’t want to pay someone to do what he could do. “Come to find out, it was enjoyable! I’ve been doing this ever since Moby Dick was a guppy,” Kim jokes.
One of the first people he worked with was Miss Maggie. “She’s always doing her thing. She’s amazing,” Kim recalls. The first project was her closet. Then, Kim worked on the attic door, new wiring in the attic which had been damaged by squirrels, installed facia board, outdoor lighting, and replaced some doors.
Kim says he listens to residents to find out what their needs are and then assists them however he can. Sometimes the structure isn’t conducive to living with rotten floors that need to be redone, plumbing doesn’t work, or seniors need taller toilets installed. “We’ve also worked on houses down to the studs,” Kim remarks. He says he likes to do these remodels, but mostly he finds he likes working with seniors because they can see someone who cares for them and he wants to bring them up to a better situation than they’ve been in. “The gratitude they have is amazing,” he says.
“With the seniors, most of them give me a key,” he says. He develops a great rapport with them and they trust him to work on the house when they’re not there. Right now he is replacing the floors, central heating, and air conditioning in one home.
The best moment Kim recalls is working on a bathroom for one of the Senior Home Repair initiatives. He installed new tiling, cabinets, countertops, and a shower system. He says the gratification of seeing people’s faces when they see the repairs makes it worth it. “It’s the little things that people look at and can’t believe this is their house,” he says.
FCS is grateful for dedicated partners like Kim Thomas, whose skills and compassion help ensure that seniors in South Atlanta can live safely and independently in their homes. His commitment to listening, restoring, and revitalizing not only strengthens individual households, but also the entire community. Together, we can continue creating a neighborhood where every generation feels valued, supported, and at home.
