Every year on the last Saturday in September, the VCU Volunteer Services office sponsors the “Into the Streets” event, which sends 11 volunteer teams to different sites in the Richmond area.
This past event included a site at a household for the Elder-Homes Corporation, which aids the elderly wishing to continue living independently through volunteer, rehabilitation and weatherization programs.
“They are really popular with students,” said Beth Ward, volunteer services coordinator, referring to the organization. “There are lots of chances to volunteer at the warehouse and to volunteer at clients’ houses.”
The team worked on an elderly couple’s home where the husband could not keep up with maintenance because of a broken back.
“They were so appreciative because they couldn’t do it themselves,” Ward said. “The couple that lived there were so appreciative that they fed the students and gave them lunch.”
Ward said that experience changed some of the students’ initial opinions on the project.
“We had some students that were on the team working with Elder-Homes that were hesitant to be there,” she said, “but all of them really enjoyed it. They could see the immediate difference (of their efforts).”
Lyn Haines, executive director of Elder-Homes, said one of the homes’ biggest concerns is for those elderly people with disabilities, especially physical ones.
“We’ve found that over the past few years one of the greatest needs is for handicap accessibility,” Haines said, adding that they now have 105 people on their waiting list to install handicapped ramps.
“This has been an area of great concern for us,” she said, “because some of our individuals are on dialysis and need to get in and out of the house numerous times per day, so they really do need to have a ramp in order to make that exit of their homes.”
Bill Ballas, fund development and program compliance director of Elder-Homes, said another area of concern for the organization is home rehabilitation.
“Those makeovers aren’t done for cosmetic purposes,” Ballas said. “They’re done for structural, safety and health purposes.”
Ballas said in the past year, the rehabilitation department completed extreme home makeovers for about 105 households.
“It actually helps turn blocks and neighborhoods around,” he said.
The executive director said they are already preparing for the future.
“We have all the baby boomers coming up,” Haines said, “and many of them have not prepared for retirement.”
The organization is also developing independent-living apartment communities.
“Getting in the development industry is not an easy thing, especially when you’re building properties that are for low and moderate income (people),” she said. “You have to learn that process. It’s not for the faint of heart at all.”