Is there any way to get aid when making a home accessible?

Joy, there are in fact companies that do specialize in adaptive construction. This is their focus. From conversations with friends who are in construction, this is somewhat of a niche area; mainstream construction companies don't always want to get involved, in part b/c of the increased costs and sometimes iffy funding sources.

Contact the local Alzheimer's Assn. and ask for the individuals who maintain the lists of referrals of various sources. I got good lists from them for private duty, hospice care providers, retrofit contractors, etc.

The AAA can also provide lists, but it takes them a week to do so. ALZ e-mails lists, w/in 1/2 hour in my experience. The AAA also holds Caregiving Expos, in the fall in our area, and retrofit/adaptive contractors typically have booths and photo albums of their projects. But that's several months to wait for an expo.

I would do this: Contact the Alzheimer's Assn. so you can get referrals now; contact the AAA also but expect to get nothing for a week or so (although this may be a local problem with not getting information out quickly).

Contact local Senior Centers or Senior Centers in upscale areas (more likely to have senior expos), and ask when they're having their own Senior Expo. At least 3 in my area have smaller expos, generally with limited contractors b/c of limited space (no room for big van demos).

When I contacted the outstanding code enforcement people in my father's area and asked for retrofit recommendations to modify an existing exterior ramp, they only could provide one reference. I called; the owner was an arrogant fellow who wouldn't even come out for an estimate. He told me to take photos and come to his office to discuss the issue. It was the first ever time I've been told that an estimate wouldn't be provided on site. It was clear he wasn't interested in that kind of project.

I don't know about financial help except for Veterans, and there are funds available for adaptive projects.

As to Weekend Warriors, if you or your husband are Veterans, there's a group of Veterans and volunteers who voluntarily assist in post-disaster cleanup, remediation, and basic assistance. My mind is a blank right now and I can't remember the name, but I'll try to and post back later after visiting my father.


If you're in Michigan, let me know and I'll dig out my brochures from past AAA expos and provide names of local contractors, some of whom may be affiliated with or local offices of major companies.

Just found the organization: Team Rubicon. Their focus is definitely disaster relief, such as major disasters, but they might be able to suggest other similar organizations, or as I wrote, if you're Veterans, they might be able to help. Just a thought....

One thought just in case helpful is that taking interior doors off the hinges made the doorways wide enough for my dad's power wheelchair. We did this with the bedroom and kitchen doors so my dad could carefully roll in or be rolled in. Not as great as having new, wider doorways, of course.

It would be great if you could get some assistance for the flooring issue. Would you care to advise us what state you are in? Maybe someone would have some ideas for your state.

Ahmijoy, be careful in contacting the AAA; in our area it has a program allegedly allowing people to remain in their homes. I don't recall the name of the program offhand...SameAddress is the program, I think.

But I contacted ours re that same program, had an estimator come out, and he wanted to do a lot of work that wasn't necessary. It was also clear that he was in a noncompetitive position because he didn't know how to estimate or compete with other contractors. He even indicated he had wanted to work for a government agency.

His estimate was 5 times what I paid a professional contractor. He was also belligerent and became annoyed and critical when I told him I didn't need all the work done that he proposed to do. Although I didn't say, I felt it was definitely a rip-off.

Yes, GA, that’s scary. It seems as though we Senior Citizens exist only to be taken advantage of, especially women. Luckily, I know a bit about repairs and construction. I know what needs to be done, just dont have the strength, funds or tools to do it. My son has offered, but he’s going to be a dad any day now and I don’t feel right asking him. I’m going to take a second, calmer look at it tomorrow and see if I can do my best to patch the floor.

I had the same experience as you with one of those Home Insurance places. When our hot water tank blew, I called them to send someone to fix it. They sent a plumber who had to travel 45 minutes just to light the pilot. It blew out again a day later and this time he didn’t even show up. What looks great in theory doesn’t always work in reality.

There are hinges that you can put on a current door that will allow the door to open more fully. Not sure what they are called but the CNA that came from Hospice told me about them. (I did not need them as my house if accessible but I was asking for a member of one of my support groups)
If your Husband is a Veteran there are programs, Grants through the VA that will pay for adaptations.
Some Senior groups have lists of "handymen" that may do work like this and usually they are lower cost.

Your local Habitat for Humanity might be a good choice for information about home repairs or recommendations. Although their primary mission is building homes for people who have never been home owners, in my area a lot of retired construction workers spend a few hours a day on these projects. You might be able to get your labor free and reduced pricing on your materials.

Adaptive housing is also known as "Universal Design". It's home design principle that gives a better quality of life for the people who live there making a home more accessible and livable regardless of who lives there, and keeping it visually appealing. A mom with young children, could use this too, i.e. a stroller through the flat entrance, arms and hands full of baby and or groceries. We need to lose the word ,"handicapped" and use the term adaptive more frequently! There are companies who specialize in this type of remodel / renovation. I live in AZ and there's becoming a large market for this especially in retirement and sunbelt areas and I'm beginning to study and launch a business in this field. I've watched my elderly relatives struggle to live comfortably in their homes and then have to leave due to a fall or just the inability to navigate throughout their home. Here's a resource that might be informative: universaldesign.com/

Oh no! Sorry to hear about the floor hitting the crisis point. Let us know what the Area of Aging says. Hoping there is some funding and help you can get with this repair.

I just thought of this...
Check you local High School or Community College. If they have a program (Used to be called Shop Classes...showing my age!) that teach the students building, codes, how to adapt current buildings to make them accessible they may be interested in doing some work. I am sure you would have to pay for supplies. It would be worth a call. If they do not have a program that would do this for you they may have a list of graduates that are looking for work.
I found the best Caregivers this way, got 2 recent graduates in the Nursing program that had been certified as CNA's and it was before the Nursing programs started. I told them I would be very willing to work around their class schedules when it cam time to scheduling them.