Link to article in Lakeshore Weekly News
By Amanda Schwarze amandas@weeklynews.com
Help with changing light bulbs, painting and shoveling the sidewalk can mean the difference between seniors remaining in their homes and being forced to move.
The Minnetonka-based nonprofit Senior Community Services operates the state’s largest chore services program for seniors. Its HOME (Household and Outside Maintenance for Elderly) program offers seniors help with light housekeeping work, home repair and maintenance services, interior and exterior painting, snow removal and mowing services.
In studies that are conducted to determine what will help seniors stay in their own homes and independent, chore programs are always in listed in the top six of needs for the state and county, Senior Community Services CEO Deb Taylor said.
“Our mission is to help keep people in their own homes and neighborhoods for as long as possible,” she said.
Typically, seniors’ own homes are their most affordable housing option, Taylor said. When they move out of their house, many seniors go into assisted living buildings. Most can’t afford those apartments, she said, so the public pays. The most economical option is to keep the elderly in their homes by giving them the support they need, she said.
Seniors pay for the services that the HOME program provides using a sliding scale based on their monthly income. Senior Community Services employs people who perform the housekeeping, light maintenance and painting work. The organization uses independent contractors for the snow removal and mowing services. Background checks are performed on all of the workers, Taylor said. There are also spring and fall yard clean-up services offered through the HOME program. Those services are done by volunteers free of charge.
All clients are asked why they chose the HOME program, Taylor said. The most common answer from the seniors is that they are unable to afford the market rate for the services, she said. Rounding out the top three reasons are that they trust the staff and they are unable to do the chores themselves.
With so much demand for help with chores, Taylor said she’s trying to expand the service area for the HOME program. The program launched in the Westonka area Sept. 1. Not long after, officials from the Neighborhood Involvement Program, which helps Minneapolis seniors with chores, approached Senior Community Services about taking over its program. After making sure that the organization could responsibly handle the expanded service area, Senior Community Services agreed.
The HOME program now serves the cities of Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Deephaven, Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Golden Valley, Greenwood, Hopkins, Long Lake, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, Mound, New Hope, Orono, Osseo, Plymouth, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Shorewood, Spring Park, St. Louis Park, Tonka Bay, Wayzata and Woodland.
That covers most, though not all, of Hennepin County. Some of the far western cities, including Independence, Maple Plain and Minnetrista are not yet served by the HOME program. Taylor said she hopes the program will be able to cover the entire county within the next five years.
With programs like HOME, Senior Community Services is trying to get people to re-imagine aging, Taylor said.
“There’s this whole idea that aging and being a senior is bad,” she said. “When you’re a senior in high school, college or the workforce, you’re at the top. When you’re a senior in life, you’re also at the top. Aging isn’t easy, but you just might need a little extra support to make it a great time in your life.”
