— from Sara Boyle for Orcas Senior Center —
Many Orcas elders on Orcas cannot age safely at home due to deferred maintenance on their homes. Home maintenance and repair emerged as a critical need in the 2017 needs assessment conducted by the Orcas Senior Center (OSC) Nonprofit with a grant from the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF). OSC is undertaking efforts to establish a collaborative and affordable community response.
On November 13, eleven community members participated in a Focus Group (FG) convened by OSC to respond to questions and discuss their insights regarding Home Maintenance and Repair (M&R) for island seniors.
Here’s what we learned. Most frequent needs include yard maintenance, appliance repair, plumbing, chimney sweeping, gutter cleaning and electrical repairs. Most difficult services to access are furnace repair, roofing, electrical and plumbing. Obtaining a licensed and bonded contractor is very difficult, especially in remote areas.
Seniors need service from people who are licensed, reliable, trustworthy, professional, good communicators and are fair in their pricing. The group discussed a number of solutions including an affordable home maintenance and repair service that seniors could join and several workshops for seniors to help them maintain their homes and do business with contractors. OSC Nonprofit will use this information to develop services and resource development, so that seniors may age safely in their homes.
Senior Home Repair is the focus of OSC’s Holiday Giving campaign through OICF. Funds will be used to develop a pilot program (Helping Hands) operating under the umbrella of OSC’s Hearts and Hands Program. Visit our website (orcasseniors.org) to learn more. Support this initiative by donating to the Senior Center via giveorcas.org for the 2018 OICF Holiday Grant Campaign. We appreciate your support!
