You may think of Twin Cities Habitat as a home builder, but that’s just part of the story. Safe and affordable housing isn’t just a one solution problem. Habitat’s Age in Place program is piloting chore services that strive to keep aging, low-income homeowners in their home and communities as long as possible by providing assistance for household chores that require a helping hand. As homeowners get a little older, a little bit of help goes a long way. We recently visited with Teri, who lives in Mounds View, to learn more about what kind of assistance she needed and discovered a small army of hard-working volunteers from United Properties.

Did you know that May is Older Americans Month (est.  1963)? Led by the Administration on Aging, part of the Administration for Community Living,  every May the nation observes the month through ceremonies, events, fairs, and other activities.

Guest blog by Shannon Twiss
Volunteer Coordinator

Although it’s hard to believe given the weekend’s weather, spring is just around the corner! This May, we will be completing a second set of chore services as a pilot for our new Age In Place program. Last fall, we partnered with nine senior homeowners to complete chore services. Forty-two volunteers provided 180 hours of leaf-raking, garden clean-up, pruning and yard clean-up.

This spring, we will be doing similar work as in the fall, as well as helping homeowners prepare their gardens for planting.

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's Age in Place program provides services for older adults to modify their homes so they can continue to live safely and affordably.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, thousands of families nationwide participated in Family Volunteer Day, completing volunteer projects in their communities. Family Volunteer Day is presented each year by The Walt Disney Company and supported by GenerationOn, the youth division of Points of Light.

We are very excited to announce two new ways to volunteer with Twin Cities Habitat! One of these roles was developed to assist families that are interested in our programs and services, and the other is part of a pilot program we're launching to support our new Age in Place (AIP) work. Read about these new roles below and be sure to express interest if you're willing to lend a hand!

This summer, we announced an exciting new program starting at Twin Cities Habitat. Beginning this fall, Habitat volunteers will be out in the community initiating our Age in Place pilot —helping seniors with house chores so they can live safely and comfortably in their home as long as possible.

Should I stay or should I move?

Guest Post by Pat Lund
Twin Cities Habitat Staff

Falls are the number one reason aging homeowners need to leave their home for alternate living situations. One out of four older people falls each year resulting in 2.8 million emergency visits, 800,000 hospitalizations, and a cost of $31 billion dollars in health care annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

One of the challenges as we age is staying connected to family, friends and community. According to the Bipartisan Center on Senior Health and Housing Task Force: One of the most important public health findings over the last two decades has been that there are a number of factors, beyond medical care, that influence health status and contribute to premature mortality.