The COVID-19 pandemic created unique challenges as we worked to provide home safety and accessibility modifications for older adults in a safe and effective manner. One positive thing that came out of the pandemic was the launch of our Safe at Home kits, which made it possible for us to continue to provide services that would benefit older adults when we could not safely send staff or volunteers into their homes.
The kits are provided free of charge to low-income older adults and include a smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, no-slip bath treads, dawn to dusk lightbulbs and nightlights, grabbers, mini-flash light, batteries, kitchen fire extinguisher, reusable masks, sanitizing wipes, and an application for Safe at Home services. These kits are funded under an award with Trellis as part of the Older Americans Act and through the Minnesota Department of Human Services Live Well at Home program.
Our Safe at Home kits have been enthusiastically welcomed, and they have an immediate positive impact on the safety, health, and well-being of low-income older adults we are able to serve through this component of the program. The kits also help to raise awareness which will lead many of the homeowners to ask for additional help needed to remain safely and independently in their own homes.
If you are interested in volunteering to assemble and/or distribute kits or if you would like to request a kit, please email Tom at tom@rtmn.org.
Please note that our Safe at Home kits are only available in the 7-County Twin Cities Metro and in Cottonwood, Jackson, Nobles, and Pipestone Counties in Southwest Minnesota. In order to be eligible to receive a kit, you must be a low-income senior (60+).
