NEW BATHROOM FOR PAUL

At age 64, Paul says has “gotten by and made do” for many years. Paul is an inventor and has ingeniously adapted his 1905s Levitt house to meet his needs. He has installed jerry-rigged ramps and handles, allowing him to push his wheelchair around his house. In his bathroom, the edge of the sink cabinet broke years ago from using it as a grab bar, and getting into the old tub is very dangerous.

Paul was born with cerebral palsy and has limited use of his right arm.  Paul values his independence. However, with age, his already erratic muscle control is worsening and he is becoming more dependent on a caregiver.

Paul’s situation is an accident waiting to happen. He is truly one fall away from spending the rest of his life in a nursing home.  HFH volunteer architect, Laura Montllor has designed a new bathroom, which includes a wheel-in shower.  This will allow Paul to safely maintain his independence and privacy.

Your donation will make his accessible new bathroom a reality in 2011.  Please give today!

HFH in Top 50 – gets 5 Stars!

THANKS to your reviews, we got a 5 Star rating and listed in  the 2010 Disability Awareness Campaign!

Only 50 nonprofits qualified for the Top-Rated Disability Nonprofits List!

Thanks for the Support and Great Job !

FALL WORKSHOPS

October 14^th – 2pm to 3:30pm

Universal Design for Your Home

Architect, Laura Montllor, AIA will illustrate ideas for creating accessible home renovation projects and explain the principals of Universal Design and Visitability. Learn how effective, useful solutions can be easily implemented and be very attractive.  Receive a checklist for evaluating your home and get practical design guidelines. 

Sponsored by - Long Island Center for Independent Living

3601 Hempstead Turnpike, 5^th floor – Levittown, NY 11757

FREE - Call to reserve your seat  – 516 796 – 0144 ext 232

November 10^th – 7:30 to 9pm

Aging-In-Place – Home Remodeling Ideas

Is your home ill equipped to meet your retirement needs?  Do you need good ideas and options?  This evening seminar will help. Making changes to your home so you and your loved ones can live in it longer is a growing trend among Baby Boomers. Beyond portable ramps and ugly grab bars, a well designed remodeling project will look beautiful and add value to your home. Architect Laura Montllor will look at a variety of solutions for no-step entries, accessible kitchens and ways to improve comfort and safety in the bathroom. You will learn which plans are most cost effective and find out what resources are available.

Presented by Port Washington Public Schools Continuing Education

Schreiber High School , Room 215 , Campus Drive, Port Washington

Cost $25 – To register call 516 767 – 5470

Independence EXPO – great fun!

Home Free Home’s booth at the second annual Independence Expo at Suffolk Community College’s Brentwood, NY campus on Friday and Saturday June 25-26,  was frequently visited and well received by those who stopped by.  About 2000 people attended . Volunteers staffing the table educated visitors about HFH’s mission, distributed brochures and applications to individuals or families in need of architectural design services, and attracted the interest of several potential volunteers for upcoming events.  A special thank you to United Spinal Association for sponsoring our booth again this year.  Also, thanks to the volunteers who helped us spread the word about Home Free Home: Laura Montllor, AIA,   Mark Wittenberg, AIA, Patti Locurcio, Jerry Cicciari,AIA and the Ladau Family (Ellen, Marc & Emily).

See EXPO pictures here -

http://www.unitedspinal.org/2010/07/01/discovering-new-paths-toward-independence/

On Saturday Architect, Laura Montllor, AIA gave a workshop called ” Making Your Home Your Castle”,  explaining the principals of Universal Design and showing design strategies for creating accessible home renovation projects. Workshop attendees received checklists for evaluating their homes and got practical design guidelines.

We hope to make the Independence Expo  an annual event as it is an excellent forum to learn about resources available to the aging and/or disabled community and, of course, to  meet people most in need of HomeFree Home’s guidance and design expertise.

OUR THIRD ANNUAL

GARAGE SALE

Big Success !!!

Despite a rainy start on Saturday morning,  the garage was a big success.  For the third year in a row,  Mary Snyder and lots of HomeFreeHome volunteers put out an outstanding effort and we made several thousand dollars.  EXCELLENT !!!

Special thank you for allowing us parking space to DIWAN Restaurant – 37 Shore Road, Port Washington -

Many thanks to all our volunteers and thank you all for your generous donations!

To see more  pictures go to our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/HomeFreeHome/102698494567?ref=ts or Mary’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/maryfrancessnyder?ref=ts

Also…. Be sure to join our facebook group….

Designing a Kitchen for Emily

Smart and charming, Emily Ladau is 19 years old and a Dean’s List honor student at Adelphi University.   She also has Larsen’s Syndrome, a rare congenital disorder that affects all of her bones and joints.  Emily has endured numerous surgeries but still needs to use a wheelchair everyday .

Emily’s mother, Ellen, is 49 and has the same disorder and she too has had many surgical procedures.   She uses a walker or power wheelchair depending on whether she is wearing her leg brace or the distances needed to be traveled.  Ellen, her husband Marc, and Emily have lived in a two bedroom 1950’s ranch style house on Long Island since 1996.   Over the years they have added a ramp and an accessible bathroom, with the generous help of their family.

The old original kitchen is still a source of daily frustration for them. There are many high and low areas that can’t be accessed. Carrying pots and pans to and  from the stove is difficult because their hands are either on walker handles or their wheelchairs. Many kitchen  tasks just have to be postponed until Marc is home from work. Since Emily is quite  petite she can not reach the sink or countertop and can not prepare even the simplest of meals for herself.

Architect, Mark Wittenberg has designed a new “ mother – daughter “ kitchen for them.  It includes two prep areas one with a counters slightly lower than regular height with a open spaces under the sink and the cook top,  On the other side of the kitchen is a space for Emily.  It has countertop that is shallow ( 20”) and low ( 30”) .  It has a small sink with an single lever faucet.  A side by side refrigerator will allow Emily to reach the freezer.  Other details include: pull out drawers for pots, easy to reach outlets and light switches and an under counter  microwave.

Volunteer Architect Mark Wittenberg and the Ladau family

The Ladau family is thrilled with the design and Emily says ” I can’t wait to cook my own full course meal.”  And Ellen is looking forward to more independence in her kitchen and teaching her daughter the skills she will need to live a more independent life. “We are so grateful to have found Home Free Home and know that with their guidance we will finally get a functional kitchen.”

Laura Montllor, AIA joins NYAIL

• Laura Montllor, AIA has taken a position with NYAIL, New York Association on Independent Living, which is an organization of Independent Living Centers. ILCs are community based not-for-profit centers that provide support services and advocacy for people living with disabilities of all ages.  As their Housing Educator,  she will be lecturing and training.  ” I am very proud to joining this vibrant organization and excited about the opportunity to help increase awareness of the critical need for the barrier-free, affordable, accessible housing in our state.” For more information on NYAIL see – http://www.ilny.org/.