Did you know falls are the leading cause of injury among older adults in Minnesota? Or that for people over the age of 65, more than half of all falls happen at home? You can prevent these avoidable injuries by joining our Safe at Home team!  We will be hosting Safe at Home trainings throughout the year. If you would like to learn more about this program and sign up for our next training, please email Fitzie at f.heimdahl@rebuildingtogether-twincities.org.
We want to highlight one of our long-time partners, Saint Catherine University’s Occupational Therapy program. We have an established partnership with this program through which we collaborate on service-learning projects that involve graduate occupational therapy (OT) students evaluating the homes of low-income older adults and individuals living with a disability. The students make for safety and making recommendations for safety and modifications designed to reduce the risk of falls and other injuries. Our volunteers then make the modifications that are within the scope of our programs. This partnership provides students with a hands-on learning experience that enables them to directly work with low-income clients who are older adults or are living with a disability and. It also provides the homeowners we help with more comprehensive accessibility modification services that are truly tailored to their individual needs.
With the support of a grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, we recently expanded our partnership with Saint Catherine University to create and implement an assessment tool in order to measure the effectiveness of our services and adjust them, as needed, to better align with the needs of our clients.
We would like to recognize Catherine Sullivan, Ph.D., OTR/L and Associate Professor, who has been instrumental in the development and cultivation of this relationship. She recently said of our Program Director, Tony Sjogren, “Thanks again for all your time and positive energy. Students could see your passion for helping people who are under-served in the community and clearly were moved to do the same.”
We are proud of this partnership with Saint Catherine University and look forward to continuing to our work together to help low-income homeowners who are older adults or are living with a disability age-in-place successfully and live more safely and independently in their homes!
HRVP Team for installing a ramp for a low-income homeowner living with a disability
Special Shout Out to our Safe at Home Volunteers: Steve, Wes, Mariette, Colin, Jody, Emily, and Tom!
One in three Americans aged 65+ falls each year.
Every 15 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall.
Every 29 minutes, an older adult dies following a fall.
Together, we can help prevent older adults from falling in their homes. Through our Safe at Home program, volunteers make accessibility modifications, such as installing grab bars and handrails, which the Centers for Disease Control recommends in order to reduce the risk of falls. Last year, our incredible volunteers provided these modifications for 74 low-income homeowners.
We would like to recognize the core of our Safe at Home volunteer team: Wesley Anderson, Mariette Cole, Steve Ivancic, and Colin Levine-Horrigan. Without the hard work of these dedicated volunteers, we would not be able to provide homeowners in need who are older adults or are living with a disability with the modifications they need to live independently and safely in their homes.
If you or someone you know might benefit from our Safe at Home program or if you would like to volunteer for this program, please contact us at SafeAtHome@RebuildingTogether-TwinCities.org or 651-776-4273.
