April 22, 2025
Only a few minutes down the road from her childhood home in the historic Blackland Neighborhood, Tammy now resides across the 183 Toll where Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. becomes FM 969. Tammy, a recipient of our Home Repair program, wishes more people knew about the available services that made her home safer to age in place in.
Throughout her life, she’s witnessed the transformation of East Austin. Around the 1990s, she began taking notice of the increasing gentrification of her neighborhood.
“A lot of these people had old, dilapidated houses. What pushed them out was the inability to make essential repairs, making their homes unsafe to live in over time,” she shares. Many of her neighbors sold their homes and moved away.
Tammy purchased a home in the Woodland Hills neighborhood just before retiring from the University of Texas at Austin, where she dedicated 28 years. “Our history is what we lost,” she says referring to the Blackland Neighborhood, “but this program is beneficial. People can continue living in their homes with this opportunity.”
Home repairs that ensure tammy can stay
Because of a hip injury, Tammy must now sit down to cook. Cooking this way has led to burns on her forearms. Our Home Repair team was able to make accommodations to Tammy’s kitchen stove and sink to reduce the possibility of injury and to make her home safer to navigate.
The Home Repair team also replaced her tub with a walk-in shower to lessen the risk of falling. To accommodate her need to exercise outside for health management, the Home Repair team added a wrap-around paved path and a porch with a handrail for support.
Tammy shares that she wishes “more people knew that this program is real and ready to help.” Home repairs that enhance safety and accommodate accessibility needs are critical in allowing our neighbors to age in place with dignity.
Your gift helps neighbors age in place
Our Home Repair program is a lifeline that enables older adults and people living with disabilities to remain in their homes independently.
Your generosity makes lifechanging renovations possible! Click below to make a gift that helps support more vital home repairs.
You can also make a gift by contacting the Advancement Office at 737-218-4186 or emailing Advancement@mowctx.org today.