Rebuilding Together Twin Cities’ new Safe at Home program is celebrating its first birthday with the start of the new fiscal year, and we are proud of what we have accomplished through this program in the last year! 

Safe at Home addresses small-scale home safety and accessibility modifications for low-income homeowners who are older adults, living with a disability or caring for a loved-one with a disability.  Eighteen volunteers donated over 300 hours of service to complete 30 Safe at Home projects, installing 42 grab bars, 37 new handrails and 18 smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in homes in Minneapolis and St. Paul and meeting our goal for the program’s first year.  These modifications have helped more than 35 seniors and people living with disabilities live more safely and independently in their own homes, and the ripple effects also benefit the family and friends who help them.

One of the homeowners we assisted this year, Mary, had difficulty accessing her tub because it was raised on a platform and her balance is poor.  Mary’s daughter helped her to bathe, but she is a member of the National Guard and may be called into duty at any time, leaving Mary without assistance.  After the volunteers installed a series of three grab bars, Mary went for a test run.  She easily stepped into the tub and sat on her new shower chair.  Mary’s face radiated with excitement.  Quickly, she pulled herself up, turned around and stepped out of the tub with the aid of her new bars.  “I can take a bath all by myself!”  Mary exclaimed and opened her arms in thankful hugs.

As you may know, there is a substantial need for the home accessibility and safety modifications made through the Safe at Home program.  More than one third of older adults fall each year in the United States; and Minnesota has the third highest rate of older adults dying from falls.  Many Safe at Home modifications address fall prevention measures, especially in the bathroom and stairways—two-high risk areas for falls.  Common modifications include grab bars, shower seats, handheld shower units, raised toilet seat adapters, handrails, and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. 

The work we do through this program would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of our Safe at Home volunteers.   Jenn, who has volunteered on several projects, explains that she enjoys volunteering with Safe at Home “because we make a difference in someone’s day to day life in a few short hours.”  In addition, we would like to recognize the Allianz Life Insurance Company, Bigelow Foundation, Frey Family Foundation, Mardag Foundation, Ramsey County and Saint Paul Foundation, whose generous support has enabled us to help these homeowners.  Thank you to all of our volunteers, funders and homeowners for making the first year of Safe at Home a huge success!

If you or someone you know could benefit from services through Safe at Home, please contact our office at 651-776-4273.