Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada received a renewal grant from the Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division to help low-income seniors who may be facing unfit living conditions.
With the grant money, Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada is offering these seniors free, one-time home repairs and modifications.
For years Catholic Charities has provided in-home modifications to help seniors stay in their homes.
“We know a lot of people who are kind of struggling to get by, and we’re seeing a lot of our senior population coming to Catholic Charities because they’re facing eviction or they’re in a home environment that isn’t working for them anymore, and being able to stay and age in their homes is such a critical part of stability,” said Marie Baxter, the CEO of Catholic Charities.
This grant helps them make small modifications in a senior's home, for example, adding a ramp or a grab bar.
Baxter explains more, “Maybe they’ve lost all of their flooring, and for a variety of reasons, it’s falling apart, and we can put in safe flooring, and they’ve reached a point where maybe they have a little arthritis and they need those grab bars, or they need something in their kitchen that’s going to keep things a little bit safer.”
She also mentions, “The other part I love about our senior home modification is our staff is going in a meeting with seniors who are reaching out to us, but we’re forming that relationship; it’s not just, ‘Ok, we’re going to stop in, and we’re going to fix this one little thing in your house, and we’re out.’ We come in, we get to know who they are, and we understand what their needs are because chances are if they have a little need, they probably have other things we can do too.”
Baxter also explains that sometimes, when they go into a senior's house to fix something, they realize the senior may need additional resources from them. Getting to know the seniors is a great way to find out what else they may need.
She tells us this grant is on the smaller side, so they may not be able to replace an entire roof, but they can help with smaller fixes.
“If we have seniors out there that find themselves in that position, if you reach out to Catholic Charities, we can help you get connected with a variety of different resources and maybe another nonprofit that can work on roofing or an entire subfloor replacement.”
She also told us a story about a senior they helped in the past: “I recall we had one senior that not only did we get a chance to meet her, but she was so incredibly grateful for the work we did on her home because it enabled her to stay in her home, which she didn’t want to leave, and she didn’t need to leave; she didn’t need a higher level of care, so she was so incredibly appreciative, and she still keeps in touch with us.”
If you want to find out if you qualify, you can always go directly to Catholic Charities or call them at 775-322-7073 and choose the 'I need help' section, and you'll be connected to a team that works specifically with helping seniors.
You can also check out their website by clicking the link here.
