St. Charles Council on Aging partners with local construction company to make FREE home repairs for seniors – like building wheelchair ramps
BY HEATHER R. BREAUX and SHONNA RIGGS
The Safe Harbor Program in conjunction with Zachry Construction Company is giving back to the community by building wheelchair ramps and making other home repairs for senior citizens in St. Charles Parish free of charge.
The program, sponsored by the St. Charles Council on Aging has one goal in mind – to keep senior citizens as independent as possible.
“The Safe Harbor coalition provides minimum home repairs for low income elderly residents, and Zachry gives back by making some of the repairs,” Christine Candies, adminstrative coordinator for the company told the Herald-Guide.
“It’s a volunteer program and we’ve just completed our fourth ramp for a disabled person this year,” she said.
St. Charles Council on Aging helps identify the families who are in need of the ramps.
“We have least nine guys, full-time employees with our company who volunteer to build the ramps,” Candies said.
The administrative manager for the COA, Krista Carpenter, says that they purchase the materials for all the jobs from Landry Lumber in Luling and the program has been in the works since 1998.
“The COA in conjunction with local construction companies have completed 102 hone-repair jobs for seniors since the Safe Harbor program started almost ten years ago,” Carpenter told the Herald-Guide.
“The program is designed to help seniors with minor home repairs like replacing a door or a broken window and building ramps for our disabled seniors,” she continued.
Carpenter says that Zachry donates the labor and the COA purchase the materials by way of funds donated by the United Way.
“The program currently has two jobs in the works and is waiting to schedule two more,” Carpenter said.
Carpenter also states that in order to qualify for help with home repairs through the Safe Harbor program, you must be 60 years old and older, a St. Charles Parish resident and meet low-income financial guidelines.
For more information on the program contact the St. Charles Parish Counil on Aging at 985-783-6683.
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