NEW CASTLE (May 19, 2022) – During Older Americans Month, the Department of Health and Social Services’ (DHSS) Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD) on Thursday announced a partnership with Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County to support its Healthy Homes Program as a way to support older Delawareans to age safely in their own homes.
DSAAPD will provide funding to allow Habitat for Humanity to expand Healthy Homes to older Delawareans as part of a pilot in New Castle County. Healthy Homes addresses home health hazards in order to keep homes dry, clean, ventilated, pest-free, contaminant-free and maintained. The program helps low-income homeowners impacted by age, disability and family circumstances reclaim their homes with pride and dignity.
The pilot, which will begin in the Route 9 Corridor just south of Wilmington, was announced Thursday during an event at the Rose Hill Community Center near New Castle. Officials said the pilot will help gauge the need for funding for similar services in central Delaware and Sussex County. A state senator who represents the pilot area was instrumental in bringing the possibility of such a partnership to Delaware.
“Our progress as a state can be measured by how we treat our most vulnerable residents,” said state Senator Darius Brown, D-Wilmington. “With 1 in 5 Delawareans over the age of 65, we have a responsibility to make sure the people who raised us, who provided for us and who worked hard to create a better world for us to inherit are well taken care of in their senior years,” he said. “I want to thank the Delaware Division of Aging and Habitat for Humanity for answering the call with a creative, community-focused partnership that will provide direct care to our most vulnerable seniors where they need it most – right in their own homes. I look forward to seeing older residents in the Route 9 Corridor get the helping hand they deserve, and I hope to see this program expanded to other deserving seniors elsewhere in our state very soon.”