Getting Help to Stay in Your Home

Many individuals would like to stay in their homes as they grow older but need help to make this happen.  For people living in the Northwest Suburbs that help is now available.  North West Housing Partnership is administering the CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders) program.  The goal of this program is to help senior citizens remain in their homes as long as possible.  This is a pilot program modeled on one developed at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and is the first of its kind in the Chicago area. The program helps seniors who are cognitively intact and able to stand (with or without assistance) to overcome barriers to independent living.  CAPABLE includes the services of an occupational therapist, a registered nurse and a vetted and insured handyman.  Seniors in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Palatine and Rolling Meadows are eligible to receive a limited number of at home visits and up to a day of repairs by the handyman.  These services occur over a four-month time frame.  The only costs are for the handyman work and materials.  To apply for the CAPABLE program, seniors or their caregivers must contact North West Housing Partnership by calling (847) 969-0561 or by emailing Robyn Sandys, the executive director of North West Housing Partnership, at robynsandys@nwhp.net.