TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — In a part of town where access to even basic tools is limited, a new community resource is helping residents build more than just repairs—it’s building hope.
- Screws Tool Library allows neighbors to borrow tools for home projects, like checking out a book.
- The space will offer a garden center and hands-on workshops
- Watch the video below to learn more about the membership fee for checking out tools.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A new chapter is being written on Tallahassee’s Southside—and it starts with tools, trust, and one man’s transformation.
“There are people out there who want to connect with creation without the burden of ownership and that’s why we are here,” Screws Tool Library founder Gordon Cox said.
I’m Lentheus Chaney in the southeast Tallahassee neighborhood, where a neighbor who overcame addiction is now building a resource to empower others—one tool at a time.
On the Southside of Tallahassee, in the middle of what some might call a hardware store desert, now sits a new tool library and community resource center.
It’s called Screws Tool Library—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that will allow neighbors to borrow tools, similar to the way you'd check out a book.
After overcoming substance and alcohol addiction, founder Gordon Cox says he was driven to find purpose—and saw an opportunity to help his community by providing not only access to tools, but also a path toward healing.
“If you’re on a healing journey like I’m on—and you want to kind of get involved and create things as part of that healing process, this is a great place to get involved in,” Cox said.
Cox bought a fixer-upper on the Southside, but he quickly realized—there were no big box hardware stores nearby and even the simplest repairs required driving far from home.
He eventually left his insurance career, cashed in his retirement, and worked to make his dream of opening Screws a reality.
Only two smaller hardware providers serve southeast Tallahassee, offering limited access to major chains.
Neighbor Nigel O’Rear stopped by Screws to donate old tools that had been sitting in his garage. He says access to tools through a local library—like Screws—could be a vital community resource.
“I’m privileged enough to be able to afford a new tool if I need to go out and get it for a project that I’m working on," said O'Rear. "I know that opportunity is not present for a lot of people, and having a tool library where someone can come and get, you know, something outside of just like a hammer or a saw to do something in their home to improve it—it might sound a little cheesy, but it can be life-changing.”
Cox is hosting a tool drive to help stock the library, and he’s asking neighbors to donate any unused hammers, wrenches, drills, gardening supplies—even screws and nails.
Anything you’d find in a hardware store could help someone build, fix, or create something new.
Cox says there will be a $4-per-month membership fee to check out tools.
Neighbors can also look forward to a garden center, along with trade and craft workshops offered right inside this space at 3972 Woodville Highway.
In southeast Tallahassee, I’m Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
