National Volunteer Week: Help Homeowners Age in Place

Guest Blog by Pat Lund, 
Twin Cities Habitat Age In Place Program Manager 

Twin Cities Habitat is responding to a growing need in our community to preserve homeownership and assist older homeowners live safer and longer in their homes. Our Age in Place program launched in 2018 and is serving older homeowners with home modifications and exterior chore services. In honor of National Volunteer Week, we'd like to share with you ways to get involved in Age in Place. 

Our services include a package of home modifications and seasonal exterior chores to create a safer home to navigate. Modifications include ramps, grab bars, hand-held showers, improved lighting, safer flooring and extra railings. Chores will include leaf raking, sidewalk repair, window washing, yard and gutter cleaning.

Our Age in Place program (now called Age Well at Home^TM). takes a holistic, person-centered approach to providing services. We’ve found that if we create a safe environment for homeowners to navigate inside and outside their home, but they cannot get a ride to the doctor or nutritious meal, then our impact will be minimized. This is why our work is just one piece of a larger puzzle to allow seniors to age in place safely.

We’ve also found that many older homeowners have a strong connection to their health care provider. That’s why we have partnered with Allina Health and are continuing to look to partner with other providers. As Habitat is creating these new partnerships, we’re opening new doors for how we deliver housing and healthcare services for older adults.

Through the Allina partnership we have already served ten homeowners and several more are in process! This spring we need volunteers for spring chores and helping to build a ramp and two low-rise stairs. If you'd like to be notified when Chore Services volunteer opportunities become available, please enter your name and email address in the form below. Thanks for considering to support our Age in Place work.