Early this summer, young hands will be available to help elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners in southern Rhode Island, but only if the church-sponsored program can get enough applicants to apply for the free repairs.

The Narragansett Bay Work Camp, sponsored by St. Bernard Catholic Church in North Kingstown, needs 60 qualified applicants to bring 400 teens from around the country to the state from June 29 to July 5. The teens will sleep and eat at Davisville Middle School between trips to homes in need of work such as interior and exterior painting, lead-paint removal, weatherization, wheelchair ramp repair and construction, and mobile-home skirting, all free.

St. Bernard has received only about 30 applicants and has extended its deadline to March 30.

“We are finding that a lot of people have been calling to leave a message saying other agencies can’t help them because of grant cuts,” said Dawn Masterson, St. Bernard’s youth ministry coordinator.

Applicants must live within about 30 miles of North Kingstown and the camp is looking for homeowners in Coventry, East Greenwich, Exeter, Jamestown, Narragansett, North Kingstown, Richmond, South Kingstown, West Greenwich and West Warwick.

The camp is part of a national program that travels to a different locations in the United States every summer.

The volunteers will be supervised at every site, with help from one of the camp’s sponsors, Rhode Island Housing.

The project is also seeking sponsors for building materials and food for the campers to give them a warm reception when they arrive.

“We are trying to get volunteers to provide clamcakes and chowder to give them a nice New England welcome,” Masterson said.

To apply for repairs or offer help to the Narragansett Bay Work Camp, contact St. Bernard Catholic Church at (401) 295-5235, PO Box 606 North Kingstown, RI 02852. Homeowners wanting an application can leave their name, number and address.

ngarcia@projo.com