Housatonic Habitat for Humanity Gets Grant For Senior Repairs

Danbury, CT 01/02/19 - The City of Danbury Department of Elderly Services, in partnership with Housatonic Habitat for Humanity, has received a grant from the State of CT – Western CT Area Agency on Aging (WCAAA) -- to expand services for Housatonic Habitat’s “A Brush with Kindness” program.

A Brush with Kindness (ABWK) is a home repair and painting service for senior homeowners with fixed incomes. According to Susan M. Tomanio, LCSW, Director of Elderly Services, the grant was received via the Older Americans Act, and hopes to serve approximately 20 seniors in its first year. Her department will screen all inquiries and submit requests to Housatonic Habitat that meet selection criteria which include financial need. The pilot program is geared to repairs such as interior painting, drywall, and light repairs to doors, windows and screens.

Housatonic Habitat Executive Director Fran Normann said, “We began this repair program several years ago as an expansion of our core affordable housing mission. We are pleased to receive this additional funding and to develop a partnership with Elderly Services. Brush with Kindness reaches low-income under-served homeowners who are aging in place. But beyond the repairs, the program assists those who need help to maintain their largest asset.” Since it began, Housatonic Habitat’s repair program has worked with senior services in Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, and Newtown. “We see this new partnership as an extension of the work we have begun outside this funding.”

Seniors must live in Danbury, Bethel, New Fairfield, Newtown, New Milford, Redding, Ridgefield, Sherman, or Brookfield to apply for the pilot program. For more information and to review eligibility criteria, seniors can call the City of Danbury Department of Elderly Services at 203-797-4686; email to info@danburyseniors.org; or stop by the Elmwood Hall Senior Center at 10 Elmwood Place, Danbury. Funding is limited.

For more information about Housatonic Habitat for Humanity, visit: www.housatonichabitat.org; Facebook: www.facebook.com/housatonichabitatforhumanity/. To volunteer: volunteercoordinator@housatonichabitat.org