Photos and info provided by Catholic Charities (click photos to enlarge)
LaPorte County residents who need an outdoor ramp and can’t afford to pay for one themselves might be able to have one built for free through Catholic Charities, Diocese of Gary.
The organization’s Wheelchair Ramp/Home Safety Repair Program goal: “To keep LaPorte County residents safely in their homes for as long as possible.”
Volunteers from the community and Catholic Charities join to build ramps and do home safety repairs for elderly and disabled community members who can’t afford to fund such renovations themselves.
In 2014, the program’s volunteers served 1,442 hours, built 39 wheelchair ramps and made four home safety repairs for LaPorte County residents.
Since the program’s inception in 2005, it has provided 13,250 volunteer hours, constructed 319 ramps and made 104 home safety repairs in LaPorte County.
Funding for the program is provided by United Way of LaPorte County, the Michigan City Community Enrichment Corp., and the Duneland Health Council.
To request help at your home, or to volunteer for the program, contact Thomas Szawara at 219-874-8195 or tszawara@catholic-charities.org, or Barb Mason at bmason@catholic-charities.org.
