Onsite Ed. - Serving Seniors

Below is a sampling of our Senior Education Module we share with volunteers.

 

Thank you for volunteering with us today.  You are working on an A Brush with Kindness home that is part of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. A Brush with Kindness connects volunteers and their resources with opportunities to live out their faith and values through participating in home restoration projects that help families stay in a safe and healthy home.

 

A Brush with Kindness is one way that Habitat seeks to eliminate poverty housing from the Twin Cities and to make decent, affordable shelter for all people a matter of conscience

ABWK is part of a continuum of services Habitat offers which includes Home building, home rehabs, home restoration, DIY, and mortgage counseling services

 

Who are some populations that would most likely need home restoration help? They are the populations we serve:

• Seniors, individuals with disabilities, single parents, veterans, low-income families struggling with unemployment, health issues or transitioning to a new country and lifestyle.

 

Senior statistics:

• Half of all homeowners we serve are seniors struggling to remain independent in their home.
• Seniors over the age of 65 are the fastest growing population in the U.S. nearly doubling in the next 20 years.
• As the U.S. population ages helping senior homeowners age in place will become a major issue.

Typical issue’s that senior’s face:

• Fixed income
• Physical issues and frailties associated with aging (limited physical activities, hearing  and vision loss are biggest concerns for seniors.)
• Mental health issues – memory loss and depression 15-20 %
• Transportation – getting around town
• Staying in touch with family and friendsIndependence in their own home

When seniors can’t repair their homes they often lose the option of living independently. They may have to move to nursing homes or assisted living facilities and rely on Medicaid to cover the cost. This is a very costly option for all of us, since it costs Medicaid an average of $64,000 per year for a nursing home stay in the metro area. Helping seniors with home repairs is a much more cost effective solution. 

Anyone could experience significant misfortune which could put someone in the position of one of our homeowners. Some of us standing here might be one health or financial crisis away from the position of our homeowners.

At Habitat:

Our vision is a Twin Cities region where hard-working families can own homes in healthy neighborhoods with access to jobs, transportation, and quality schools. We will help make decent, affordable housing a matter of our collective character - by continuing to build and preserve homes, by supporting families, and by engaging the community in our mission.

Onsite Education - ABWK Introductory Module

Part of the on site experience is to understand who you are serving and why homeowners need our (Habitat staff and volunteers) help. A Brush with Kindness and Habitat for Humanity

We spend time each morning with our volunteers sharing what Habitat is all about.  We also share the families story either through their live or written testimony.  We then share the general story of the main populations we serve through painting their profile statistically, by anecdote and through discussion.

Sharing the story and circumstances of families we are serving brings volunteers closer to understanding the Habitat mission and help to develop more dedicated supporters. Volunteers appreciate learning about the family and the context behind their volunteering. It helps them see the impact and change their work has on the health, safety and viability of a families home.

Here is the link to the introductory module of our on site education. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B26IjoD-X4sSSmlRcVFrQ1N5bkk

Note: there are 2 parts of this module. The first four pages is the staff section to facilitate discussion and the next 2 pages are for volunteers to read and interact with.  We pass the volunteer information out as they arrive on site so they have something to do until the morning meeting begins.

Onsite Volunteer Education

As time permits, we spend part of our morning meeting with volunteers educating them on the basics of Habitat and specifically ABWK - Who we serve, what we do, why it's important etc.  This brief presentation connects our volunteers more closely with our organization and the families we serve.

Here is the outline of what we cover:
1. Habitat introduction on homebuilding and home restoration.
2. The need for home restoration (ABWK)
       - nationally and locally
3. A brief ABWK overview.
4. Sharing the commonalities of all of our stories and struggles connects us to one another and that when we help our neighbor we are helping ourselves as well.
5. Sharing about the work (restoring homes) we partner with families to complete
        - a continuum of services including Referral, ReStore(DIY) and Restoration.
6. Common issues our families face
        - fixed income, illness, unemployment, code violations, loss of insurance & foreclosure.
7. Main populations we serve -
        - aging, disabilities, single parenthood etc.
8. Impact of ABWK on:
        - homeowners, the neighborhood and entire community.
9. Wrap up
        - ABWK is about connecting people and restoring homes...

The entire presentation takes about 10-15 minutes depending on discussion questions.  The complete educational program will be posted to the blog sometime in May 2012.

Onsite Morning Meeting Basics

Here is the outline for our onsite morning meeting with volunteers:

• Welcome and Introductions:
• "On behalf of _(homeowner)_I’d like to welcome you and thank you for volunteering…"
• Homeowner biography or have them share their story(if they are able).
• Group Leader introduction if applicable.
• TCHFH Mission
• Overview of Programs – Home Building, ReStore and ABWK
• Education Activity – Issue of the day along with a family story (general).
• Issues - Seniors, disabilities, single parents, veterans and vulnerable adults.
• General Safety Guidelines
• Lead Safety  
• Work Scope explanation
• Assign work tasks and set up with materials and equipment

We want to make sure our volunteers have a terrific onsite work experience while devloping a heart for the families we serve. abwk habitat for humanity a brush with kindness