Beyond a Day of Service

AARP Indiana sees outreach, advocacy, and charitable giving converge in Evansville

Update – February 12, 2024

On February 12, caregiver Louise P. received the keys to her new home in the Tepe Park neighborhood during a special dedication event with Habitat for Humanity of Evansville, AARP Indiana volunteers and staff, and many, many members of the community.

“Today’s dedication event holds many meanings, for a family, for a neighborhood, for a community,” AARP Indiana Director of Outreach Addison Pollock said, “But I want to start with the meaning of the highest significance.

“Louise, Jack, and their family officially have a place of their own to call home.”

Highlights of the celebration included meeting Louise’s and her brother Jack’s friends and family.

Before Louise received the keys to the new home, which features Universal Design and AARP HomeFit elements, she completed nearly 500 hours of what Habitat for Humanity calls sweat equity – volunteering, helping other future homeowners, and more.

Pollock said, “We are grateful to have joined them in just one small stretch of their journey to homeownership and hope to extend this achievement to many more families in Evansville.”

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The flooring for an affordable – and accessible – home on South Linwood Avenue was nailed into place August 16.

But there is more to this new home than floor joists and steps.

Habitat for Humanity of Evansville and AARP Indiana collaborated to make the house friendly for aging-in-place as part of a special sponsorship. The home features universal design concepts, such as grab-bars, zero-step entry and exit ways, and much more, that closely align with the AARP HomeFit program.

“For years, AARP Indiana has made affordable and accessible housing one of its corner-stone priorities,” Addison Pollock, director of community engagement, said. “Sponsoring this home-build is a tangible way to give back to the community, as well as bring awareness to the challenges facing older Hoosiers when it comes to aging-in-place.”

WATCH: A special kickoff ceremony for the home build

A recent AARP Bulletin article outlined those challenges, as well as talked about the Hoosiers who will be the new residents on South Linwood Avenue.

Advocacy and outreach

Hoosiers can find AARP Indiana hard at work in the community, at the Evansville City Council, and at the Statehouse, empowering them to age-in-place and stay in the places they call home.

Over the past year, the organization fought for changes, large and small, to the Evansville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, successfully advocating for additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to be added to the fund. During the Indiana General Assembly, staff and volunteers championed HEA 1005, a bill that created a new financing tool to help increase the supply of housing in communities across the state. Through this advocacy, a $75,000,000 Residential Housing Infrastructure Assistance Fund was established.

“We do our best to double down on the issues we think are most important to older Hoosiers,” Pollock said. “Going beyond the walls of government, AARP Indiana provides outreach and educational opportunities that raise awareness and create material change where we live.”

Volunteers from around the state helped produce Longevity at Home, a virtual event series covering everything from home decluttering, to accessory dwelling units or “granny flats,” to AARP HomeFit.

Most recently, volunteers held HomeFit workshops in both Evansville and Indianapolis.

Home sweet home

There is still work to be done in the River City.

AARP Indiana asked the community to join us for Day of Service on September 11, 2023 to get the Habitat for Humanity build closer to move-in ready.

Update: December 9, 2023
AARP Indiana volunteers helped paint the Habitat home on November 15, 2023, and will continue to support the project as it nears completion. AARP Indiana anticipates the ribbon cutting ceremony to happen in late-February or early March of 2024. AARP Indiana anticipates filming a tour of the features that make the home fit for all stages of life.

Read and view more:
Day of Service Livestream
WTVW-TV: Habitat & AARP team up for handicap accessible home
WFIE-TV: Evansville volunteers build accessible house for siblings with disabilities
WEVV-TV: ADA compliant home to be built in Tepe Park
WEVV-TV broadcast coverage
WFIE-TV broadcast coverage
WTVW-TV broadcast coverage