​HOME REPAIR PROGRAM

Get your home safe and accessible

The Home Repair Program helps to fund safe, suitable housing through health- and safety-related repairs, such as:

• Accessibility modifications (ramps, grab bars, bathroom modifications, etc.)
• Windows and window repair
• Furnace and hot water heater repairs
• Minor plumbing and electrical repairs
• Roofing repairs

​Repairs are performed by contracted labor.

Before and After Photos of one of our recent Home Repair Projects  

July, 2021​

​Safe Entrance Makes Home Sweet Again

When the simple act of entering or exiting your home is a hazard, home can feel like a prison.

That’s how Sandra D. and her husband felt at their Shepherd, Michigan home. Sandra uses a rolling oxygen tank and her husband uses a walker, which made navigating any kind of stairs outside their home virtually impossible; they really needed to have a ramp built. Even worse, the wood that comprised their front porch and steps had rotted out so badly that they were too dangerous for anyone to use at all.

During the site visit, Doug Lambeth, Home Repair Manager at Home to Stay had written in his assessment report: “existing porch and steps are totally unsafe and require complete removal.”

Unfortunately, Sandra and her husband were on a fixed income and were unable to afford the cost of building a new porch and ramp. But thanks to the coordinated efforts of many people in the community, Sandra and her husband have a brand-new porch plus a ramp built to last them a very long time.

Acting on the referral from Julie Randolph, Case Coordinator at Senior Services of Midland County, Doug Lambeth assessed and coordinated the project and led the construction along with the help from DeWitt Lumber Company of Midland for supplies and from volunteers at the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Freeland for measuring and cutting lumber. The entire project took about seven weeks, from initial intake to completion.

​The cost of the project, including labor, supplies and mileage, was funded by Region VII Area Agency on Aging, Senior Services of Midland County and the United Way of Midland County.

 “I just checked in with the clients and they are thrilled with the porch and ramp. I appreciate your services to them,” wrote Julie Randolph in an email to Home To Stay. We at Home To Stay are thrilled that Sandra and her husband can now enter and exit their home safely and easily, and that their home feels like home again.
 

​November, 2021
​
Harnessing the Power of Community:
Local Agencies Partner to Fill Gaps

“Alone we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

It seemed that William Y. was destined to fall through the cracks – literally.

William, a 68-year-old Sanford resident and a quadriplegic who uses a power wheelchair, needed a safe, accessible ramp to his home. The wooden ramp he had was in such disrepair that it could no longer support the weight of his wheelchair and his home healthcare workers were refusing to walk on it.

Boards were shrinking and rotting, nails had rusted and popped, unsafe gaps between the boards were developing, and the entire ramp structure was sagging. He was facing the daunting prospect of having to find alternative housing if he wanted to be able to continue to receive home healthcare services and come and go as he pleased.

William and his family did not have the financial means to make the necessary repairs to the ramp, and his attempts to secure help from local agencies over several months, such as Home To Stay (HTS) Housing Assistance Center’s Home Repair Program and Senior Services of Midland County, were being met with funding limitations and obstacles.

Donna St. John, HTS executive director, did not want to let William “fall through the cracks” though. Inspired by this past September’s fundraising partnership with Home Builders Association of Midland (HBA), she reached out to HBA executive officer Kimberly Sylvester for possible help from their organization.

The result? HBA agreed to provide funding for the labor for William’s ramp, HBA board member Greg Weckesser of Weckesser Builders organized a team of local builders (Bryan Dinsmore, Eric Head, Tyler Head, Kevin Junge, and Tyler Snyder), and funding from a Senior Services of Midland County grant was used to purchase materials from DeWitt Lumber of Midland. In less than a week, William had a newly built ramp that could provide everyone a safe and stable means of accessing his home.

“’Harnessing the power of your community’ is this year’s theme for Homeless Awareness Month,” said Donna St. John, “and I can’t think of a better example of the community leveraging its resources than this HTS partnership with HBA, its members, DeWitt Lumber and Senior Services.”  Thanks to the efforts of all these community members, William can now comfortably remain in his home and enjoy the level of accessibility many of us take for granted. “We are so happy to have helped this man,” said HBA’s Kimberly Sylvester. “Thank you Home To Stay for the opportunity to work together!”

Contact us for home repair assistance today.

Access Services

​A leak in Tom’s* roof was damaging the ceiling and insulation. After contacting Home To Stay, we quickly fixed the leak so Tom could be at ease.

*Names of the people we serve at Home To Stay were changed to protect their identity.