JOE AND ANNE

Joe and Ann have lived in their home for over 30 years. Joe is a veteran who served in the Army in his younger years, and then served in the reserves after he left active duty. Joe and Ann both worked hard all their lives, and raised four children. Like all the homeowners we work with, they want to stay in their home and in their community as they grow older. They are both retired now and are only receiving social security for income, so they aren't physically or financially able to keep up with the home repair needs. Joe used to do all the repairs in the home, and was quite handy. However, he now has physical limitations that make it very difficult to do any of the necessary home maintenance.

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There is a ten-foot drop from the homeowners' porch to the ground, and the railing was loose. When Joe, who is 88, took out the trash, he would drop it from the porch down to the trash cans because it's hard for him to lug the trash bag down the stairs. This was a pretty normal routine for Joe until one day, the railing gave way and he fell off the porch. So scary! Fortunately, Joe was not hurt in the fall. However, he did fall a couple more times before Joe and Ann learned that Rebuilding Together was working in their neighborhood. They applied for our services and were accepted into our “Building a Healthy Neighborhood” program. Last month, dozens of volunteers descended on Joe and Ann’s house to fix the unsafe railings - and much more.

In addition to the porch railing, our volunteers did the following:

• Installed and repaired handrails on interior stairs

• Installed grab bars in the bathroom

• Painted front porch columns and railings

• Repaired front porch roof

• Corrected hazardous electrical issues

• Installed new lighting

• Replaced the kitchen flooring

And even gave the neighborhood park a makeover!

We asked Joe how he felt about the repairs that were provided. He shared that “it was very needed. I used to do it myself, but I can’t anymore”.