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A local nonprofit organization has launched a new program that offers free grab bars, handrails and other essential home modifications to Snohomish County residents.
The Older Adult Home Modification Program (OAHMP) aims to help older adults live independently and safely in their own homes, according to a news release. Homage Senior Services runs the program.
Essential home modifications include, but aren’t limited to, ADA-compliant toilets and handheld showerheads, as well as testing, installation and replacement of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
It’s free for qualified participants. Those who are eligible must be 62 or older and they must live in the county. They must also be homeowners or renters who got landlord approval and meet specific income guidelines.
For those who qualify, a licensed occupational therapist from Homage conducts an in-home assessment and identifies safety and accessibility needs. Afterward, a technician completes the approved modifications.
“Rather than move to nursing homes or other assisted-care facilities, this program will help to enable older adults to remain in their homes – and ‘age in place.’” Cheryl Cadden, minor home repair senior manager at Homage, said in the news release.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds the program.
Those interested in the program can call 425-290-1270 or go to homage.org/home-repair/home-modification-program/.
Homage Senior Services serves more than 25,000 older adults and people living with disabilities each year in Snohomish County. The organization is more than 50 years old.
Angelica Relente is a Murrow News Fellow covering housing and related issues in South Snohomish County for the My Neighborhood News Network. Contact her at angelica@myedmondsnews.com.
This sounds like a wonderful program to help people and save money for government programs like Medicaid that pays for the majority of nursing home care, but how long will it last? Elon Musk is slashing programs from every agency and also federal grants like crazy. And the Republicans in Congress are trying to cut the budget which probably means cutting Medicaid. This shows how chaotic everything is within the Trump administration. Its left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.