Bernice

Bernice (right) with fellow Community Advisory Council members Lori (left) and Constance (center)

Bernice knows a lot about service to others. For many years, she volunteered at emergency shelters in Chicago. They would contact Bernice when help was needed, and she would answer the call.

After her husband of 49 years passed away following a struggle with dementia, Bernice found herself in an old house that needed many repairs. The back-door lock was broken, the kitchen sink didn’t drain properly, and she hadn’t been in the basement in over a year because the stairs lacked a banister.

“I was almost at the point where I wanted to give up my home and go into a senior building,” Bernice said. “But I wasn’t ready for that. I wanted to be as independent as I could for as long as I could… And I wanted a place where my grandchildren could come and stay.”

Fortunately, she contacted H.O.M.E., and our repair specialists made her house safe and accessible. They fixed her kitchen plumbing, replaced a toilet, and installed new door locks and knobs, railings, grab bars, faucets, and carbon monoxide detectors.

“Thanks to H.O.M.E.,” Bernice said, “I was able to keep my home.”

Because of the repairs, she felt safer and more confident. She kept her house. She also thought: “If I’m experiencing this, how many other people might be in the same position?”

She started telling friends and neighbors about H.O.M.E.’s services. When H.O.M.E. asked for older adults to join a new Community Advisory Council, Bernice answered the call.

A few years after the repairs, Bernice is still in her home, where she enjoys visits from her grandchildren.

She also continues to serve as an active member of H.O.M.E.’s Community Advisory Council, which advises H.O.M.E. on our programs and advocates for low-income older adults in Chicago. Bernice and her fellow council members have attended community fairs, spoken to the media and community members about the need for more home repair resources, and organized and hosted senior summits, which brought together concerned seniors, representatives from aldermanic offices and the mayor’s office, service providers, and others to discuss issues facing low-income older adults and their communities.

As you will see in the following video, taken at a townhall meeting for Fix Our Homes Illinois, Bernice is a powerful spokesperson for older Chicagoans.