When Hazel retired from her career as a registered nurse in 1992, she couldn’t find a house that felt like home. So she built one.
In the decades since, Hazel has filled the home with a life she built on her own terms, staying active in her community and enjoying the independence retirement gave her. She spends her days reading, keeping up with household tasks, and talking with family and friends on the phone.
“My life is very quiet and I don’t regret that.”
Like many older homeowners, it wasn’t one major repair that became overwhelming. It was the collection of everyday things that slowly made her home less safe.
“What I realized, is that I needed a lot of small things done and that’s a problem, money isn’t the only problem which I don’t have any of, but finding people to do these kinds of repairs. Drawers that don’t work, doors that won’t close, faucets that are dripping. So when WARM NC came, they left my house safer to live in.”
Together, WARM NC completed accessibility and safety improvements throughout her home, including additional lighting, grab bars, a ramp, new steps, fire and hurricane preparedness supplies, and even a new dryer.
“More lighting so I don’t have to walk around at night in the dark, grab bars in the bathrooms so that I can move around, steps that I can come up, ramp so I can push my roller… WARM NC left me in a really great and safe place. You don’t know how good that makes you feel. The people were very professional.”
What surprised Hazel most were the repairs she didn’t realize she needed.
“I think that I was most impressed with when they asked me if I needed a walkway out there I said no, I can get down the steps alright but they were right, I needed that. The same thing when they asked me about the bathroom grab bars, I said I could get in and out but then I realized I had been holding the wall.”
For Hazel, remaining at home means keeping something that becomes more valuable with age: independence.
“Because I can sit in this room and enjoy the ambience of my house. Even though I am by myself, I can get up when I want, I can cook when I want, I can cook what I want, I can sleep as long as I want. It gives me my independence… We have to give up so much, and being in your home is one of the independent things you get to keep.”
When asked what she would say to the volunteers, donors, and staff who made these repairs possible, Hazel paused before answering.
“I would like to say thank you, but thank you is such a small word. A small word for the difference they made in my life. I am forever grateful. Those men came and built those stairs and ramps in the hot sun and worked hard. They did a wonderful job doing that volunteer work like that. They saved the lives of many.”
If she could describe WARM NC in one word, Hazel didn’t hesitate.
“Compassion.”