Handy Helpers

Contact Person: Ryan Lavalley, Program Manager

Agency Name or Parent Company: Orange County, NC Department on Aging

Name of Home Modification Program / Resource: Handy Helpers

Address: 2551 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Email Address: [email protected]

Phone Number: 9192454245

Homepage/Website: https://www.orangecountync.gov/2374/Handy-Helpers

Established: 2015

Target Population: 55+, Low-Income

No. of Persons Served/Year: 60

No. of Paid Staff: 2

Services Provided:

• Minor home modifications (e.g., grab bars, raised toilet seats, handheld showers, handrails, lever door handles)
• Major home modifications (e.g., remodel bathrooms, adjust counter/cabinet heights, ramps, elevator/platform or chair lifts, widen doorways, roll-in showers)
• Repairs (e.g., roofing, electrical, carpeting/floors, stair repairs)
• Refers to providers (e.g., Home modification program, occupational/physical therapists, funding sources)
• Participate in task forces/coalitions or planning activities with other agencies
• Integrate home modification or repairs within existing home and community-based and/or long-term care programs
• Partners with state or local non-profit home modification programs (e.g., Rebuilding Together, Habitat for Humanity, etc...)

Funding Source(s):

• Fundraising
• Grant funds
• County Sherriff's Department FundsPartnership with University

Special Features: Handy Helpers is administratively led by an occupational therapist and supported by planning and public health student through a partnership with a local university. Volunteer older adults provide labor for home repairs. Home safety assessments by OT are free to older adults through a community-based OT affiliated with the County Department on Aging rather than a healthcare provider or system. The program uses a sliding scale cost share model for low-income seniors. Leadership of this program are highly involved and connected with an innovative and pioneering county-wide home preservation coalition.

Total Budget: $25,000

Is your organization Non-Profit?: yes