AARP Provides Home Makeovers For Ward 5 Seniors

Staff and Volunteers Foster Safety and Dignity As Part of AARP’s Sixth Annual Day of Service

Source: AARP.org | June 2, 2006

On May 11, instead of heading to the office, AARP staff and volunteers were in Ward 5 helping older residents with home maintenance work. Throughout the DC metropolitan area, more than 1,200 AARP staff members and volunteers spent the day helping others in their communities as part of AARP's sixth annual National Day of Service.

The activities in Ward 5 included building a fence to increase safety for a family that has been repeatedly vandalized. Staff and volunteers also helped out a 77-year-old mother caring for her ailing husband and adult son by providing much-needed painting. Other work included removing outdoor debris, weeding, mowing, landscaping yards and helping seniors clean and organize their homes. In all, four homes were refurbished.

The initiative was directed by experts from the Christian Communities Group Homes, which operates an Age-in-Place program to enable seniors to live independently in their own homes.

"These families have been in living in their homes for 40 to 50 years," said Mimi Castaldi, AARP DC Director. "They should be able to continue to do so with dignity and feel safe in their surroundings. Today's work is aimed to help them do just that"

AARP's national Livable Communities Initiative seeks to ensure that communities offer affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services and adequate mobility options. Together, these features allow an older person a level of independence and an opportunity to engage in community life.

"Today is a great day," said Anna Carson, who got a new fence in addition to other maintenance. "Ever since my husband passed five years ago, it's been a real struggle to keep up with things. Having these folks here and the work they're doing is really going to give us piece of mind. We'll be able to go outside again."

Throughout the nation today, AARP staff as well as tens of thousands of AARP volunteers took time to reach out and help the most vulnerable people in their communities. AARP's National Day of Service Program, which started five years ago in the wake of Sept. 11, is a reflection of its motto, "To serve, not to be served."

Related Articles

• AARP Housing Choices
• AARP Volunteering

Other Resources

• Christian Communities Group Homes