Mark A. Sullivan, Jr., Executive Director of Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (CFC), announced today the launch of the CFC Senior Home Safety Repair Program, made possible with support provided by the Charles H. Farnsworth Trust, U.S. Trust / Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Trustee. This new program will make the homes of qualifying, low-income, elderly citizens living in the Greater Fall River and Greater Taunton areas safer for them, through the installation of safety related products at no cost to the homeowners.

Mr. Sullivan noted that comfort and a place for self-expression are essential for each individual’s happiness and security. The ability to live in their own home gives most elderly persons a valuable feeling of independence.. A safe home environment is critical to making certain that the elderly are protected from accidents and injuries. In addition to the emotional benefits for senior citizens who are able to continue living independently in their own homes, there are enormous financial benefits for the elderly that are able to avoid living in either an assisted living facility or a nursing home. In Massachusetts, the average annual cost of living in an assisted living facility is over $45,000 and the average annual cost of care in a nursing home is almost $100,000, according to the Genworth Financial 2007 Cost of Care Survey.

Recent national surveys indicate the elderly are at significant risk of accidents and injuries incurred in their homes that may lead them to have medical treatment, leave their homes, and live under less independent circumstances. Home safety measures can greatly reduce the risk of accidents and the resulting injuries, but many low-income elderly homeowners simply can not afford the cost of the necessary installations and repairs. The Citizens for Citizens, Inc. Senior Home Safety Repair Program has been developed with the goal of making the homes of low-income elderly persons living in the Greater Fall River and Taunton, Massachusetts areas safer for them.

The CFC Senior Home Safety Repair Program will be directed by Madeleine Cormier, who also is the Director of the CFC Weatherization Assistance Program and Appliance Management Program. Ms. Cormier explained that auditors from the Weatherization Assistance Program will conduct a home safety audit in conjunction with the energy audit being performed at the home of each low-income, elderly (age 60 or older) client homeowner. During the home audit process, the program auditor will utilize a Safety Checklist in order to determine safety needs and possible repair work to be done.  With the approval of the client homeowner, both the safety and energy repair work will be done by a licensed local contractor under the overall supervision of a program auditor. The maximum allowable cost for safety repair work for an individual client will be set at $500 for the initial year of program operation.

To be eligible for the free assistance provided by the Senior Home Safety Repair Program, homeowners must be age 60 or older (if married, at least one person must be age 60 or older), receive fuel assistance, and be eligible for the weatherization program

Citizens for Citizens, Inc. (CFC) operates a large number of programs that help the less fortunate residents of its service area overcome the hardships of lives lived under difficult financial and social circumstances. As part of the agency’s mission to help people permanently escape the condition of poverty, Citizens for Citizens, Inc. is constantly seeking to improve its current social service programs and develop pioneering programs to aid our fellow citizens most in need.

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