WEST PALM BEACH — A retired actor with a bad back again and a Massachusetts native who life on your own are between dozens of place seniors who have experienced their homes fixed under a application operate by Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach front County.
© [LANNIS WATERS/PALM BEACH POST]
Sandy Matkivich stands at her entrance doorway in West Palm Beach, in which Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach front County’s Ageing in Area software preset a low location in the stroll with a new move totally free ramp. Less than the plan, the firm would make beauty exterior and essential interior/exterior enhancements to houses owned and occupied by lessen-income house owners. Matkivich’s dwelling was outfitted with the phase-absolutely free, concrete, front entry ramp, was stress washed and painted, delivered with a new gate and a new major shut-off valve for her water, and patched a gap in which mice have been getting into her garage.
The West Palm Seashore-primarily based nonprofit, which performs to supply reasonably priced housing prospects for low-cash flow families, established its Ageing in Location method two several years back in an hard work to help seniors continue to be in their homes for as lengthy as doable.

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Applying funding by way of its House Preservation Method, Habitat for Humanity makes beauty exterior and significant interior and exterior improvements to properties owned and occupied by decrease-profits house owners.
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Repairs selection in price tag from $2,000 to $10,000 for every home.
More than 78 percent of the people assisted by Habitat for Humanity’s Getting old in Put software are around 50 years old, but most of all those are 60 or older, claimed Bernie Godek, the organization’s chief government.
Habitat for Humanity labored with AARP to build the system, which is run by its Community Revitalization office.
“We converse to seniors, and the AARP has talked to seniors, and they never want to go away their residences,” Godek said. “They want to age in the dwelling that they’re living in. They’re scared of becoming homeless, and they never want to go to an assisted dwelling facility or nursing household.
“This offers them the potential to dwell in a good spot, in a home that they’ve owned for 20, 30, 40 years.”
© [LANNIS WATERS/PALM BEACH POST]
Between the repairs made to Sandy Matkivich’s residence by Habitat for Humanity of Palm Seashore County involve a step-free front entry ramp, exterior tension washing, a new gate, and a new key shut-off valve for h2o.
Sandy Matkivich has lived in her three-bed room, two-toilet house in West Palm Beach’s Spencer Lakes neighborhood, off Village Boulevard west of Interstate 95, for 34 a long time, and has taken care of it herself for most of that.
But the function grew to become way too substantially for the 77-year-previous, who expended a long time in the obtaining business in each her indigenous Massachusetts and in Florida.
With her household needing new paint, a new gate, exterior force washing and a stage-no cost, front-entry ramp, she decided to attain out to Habitat following speaking with a neighbor who experienced her house repaired through the corporation.
Matkivich crammed out the paperwork and then waited for approval, which failed to just take extended.
“The following point I know, there is a crew up right here portray my house,” she explained. “They did an outstanding occupation. I are unable to say enough about Habitat for Humanity and what they did. They permitted me to stay in my household.”
Elias Eliades is similarly as grateful to the group for fixing his 1,200-square-foot West Palm Beach household, which was developed in 1947.
The 66-12 months-outdated previous actor, who retired early from his career simply because of degenerative scoliosis, struggled to make repairs on his individual and attained out to Habitat for enable.
The business furnished termite treatment method, set a gate, changed a doorway and a mailbox, and converted a bathtub to a stroll-in shower.
“The stroll-in shower is absolutely stunning,” Eliades claimed. “I laughed the to start with time I made use of it, because it’s fantastic for my wellbeing. I have had two slip-and-falls in the last 2 1/2 yrs, and I finished up in the ER. I’ve fallen a couple of other periods, so I was thought of a risk.”
Home repairs finished by means of Habitat for Humanity’s Growing older in Position system are not free. House owners are asked to lead a part of the value of the repairs, ordinarily any where from 10 to 60 percent. Some exceptions are built for those people who are unable to find the money for to pay back anything, Godek mentioned.
© [LANNIS WATERS/PALM BEACH POST]
Sandy Matkivich is 1 of dozens of location seniors who have had their houses repaired by means of Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County’s Getting older in Place software. Between the repairs was a new shut-off valve for her h2o.
Owners have up to two many years to pay back back again the cash.
“It really is significant that they have a little skin in the video game,” Godek stated. “It is been a quite effective application.”
This thirty day period, Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach front County gained a $320,000 grant from the Fredrick A. DeLuca Foundation to increase and guidance its Ageing in Location system.
The grant will fund two new workers positions and increase the quantity of seniors the group serves.
Practice for Humanity of Palm Beach County, which was started in 1986, is mostly a volunteer business. It handles a geographical place from Hypoluxo Road to the Martin County line, and builds homes in Lake Worth, Greenacres, Jupiter, Pahokee, Riviera Beach, Westgate and West Palm Seaside.
jwagner@pbpost.com
@JRWagner5
This write-up originally appeared on Palm Beach Write-up: ‘They allowed me to keep in my home’: Habitat for Humanity program would make repairs for space seniors
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