Multi-year grant to Rebuilding Together helps seniors age in place

Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church received a multi-year grant in 2018 from the Health, Mental Health & Aging Fund through the Community Investment Funds grant cycle. This grant supports programs that improve the wellness and quality of life of our aging neighbors. Rebuilding Together AFF shared the following testimonial to show how this grant helped one of their clients, Ceclia.

Ceclia, a client of Rebuilding Together AFF, with her dog Precious.

Cecelia Clover and her dog Precious love her garden level condo in Alexandria, but due to health and mobility issues, climbing the stairs to reach the only bathroom in her home was getting difficult. She was also cut-off from her patio, where she delighted in sitting with Precious, because her wheelchair couldn’t navigate the bumpy path. Volunteers from Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church (Rebuilding Together-AFF) came to her rescue and made Cecelia’s home safe so she could stay there for many more years.

Rebuilding Together-AFF designs health and safety repairs and accessibility modifications to meet each homeowner’s needs. The solution for Cecelia included: volunteers installing a motorized stairlift, bathtub grab bars, a comfort height toilet, smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher, and a smooth pathway to her patio. “Rebuilding Together’s staff and volunteers are wonderful. They take the time to listen, they have such great skills, and it’s obvious how much satisfaction they take in helping neighbors in need,” said Ms. Clover. “I feel so much safer using the stairlift,” she continued. “I’m not afraid that I’ll fall on the stairs if I need to go upstairs to use the bathroom.”

Cecelia was so thankful, she decided to “pay it forward” by persuading a friend to donate two unneeded stairlifts to Rebuilding Together-AFF. “I want Rebuilding Together to be able to help others as much as they helped me,” Clover said.

A two-year grant from the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia is helping Rebuilding Together-AFF help many more low-income homeowners, like Cecelia, age in place through the Rebuilding Together Express program. The Express program is offered year round and puts 4-5 skilled volunteers to work for 4-5 hours at each home. Materials typically cost $400 - $500 and volunteers are able to correct most common hazards and keep homeowners safe and healthy in their homes.

Thanks to donors like YOU, neighbors like Cecelia can continue to live safely in their own homes. Your support can help more families and seniors in our region live in safe and healthy homes.