The current kitchen at Merrimac

When I was growing up, I spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen- climbing the doorjambs, looking for the cookie jar, and repetitively asking my mother what she was making for dinner. In high school, my best friend’s family life revolved around the kitchen in their home. Cooking was done there, cleaning was done there, cat birthing was done there- but most importantly, communing was done there. It was in that kitchen that I learned to truly love and enjoy the company of others and what each person had to offer.

This hasn’t changed as I’ve grown older. It has even carried through to my professional life. Every Hammer home has a kitchen, some big and some small, some red and some white, but the common denominator is the communal meal that takes place once everyone has returned from their busy day. Cooking the family meal, preparing the dinner table and catching up on the day’s events has become a ritual in almost all of our home and apartment programs, a routine that everyone can participate in and enjoy.

Currently, counters are not low enough and the cabinets are too high, but thus far the ladies have been able to adapt.

Unfortunately, that routine can be interrupted simply by the layout of the kitchen. When I had the pleasure of working at the Merrimac home in Plymouth with four fantastic ladies I grew to love and respect, that kitchen was designed for what I would call ‘slim giants.’ It was definitely not designed for the access and mobility of the women who call Merrimac home, and who experience a range of differing capabilities – from using wheelchairs to being vision-impaired. While not ideal, we made it work.

Over this past summer, two Hammer homes have been the subject of a $140,000 grant received from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. This grant was used to install an elevator at our Lakeside home in Minnetonka and now, we are getting the much-needed kitchen remodel at Merrimac.

The Lakeside elevator greatly improved safety and independence for the individuals served in this home in light of recent illness and aging. The Merrimac kitchen remodel will allow all the ladies to get in the kitchen at once to make healthy meals they can then sit down and enjoy together. I’m so thrilled to know they will now have a space they can make memories in, and one in which I can sit down to visit with them!

One last look at the entire kitchen/dining room before the welcomed and needed remodel!

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In my 24 years at Hammer in the maintenance department, I have watched many of those we support grow up – many who have become like a family to me. It’s an honor for me to provide those we support with a place they are proud to call home, a home for a lifetime.

As those we support and their homes age, we’re doing more home improvement projects than ever before to provide a safe home environment in our 36 homes and 10 apartment programs. Some of these projects are in the budget; others are added because of a crisis. Financial gifts to the Home Improvement Fund are budget relieving and make it possible for us to react quickly.

The rainiest spring ever caused wet basements and water damage. Retaining walls were built in a few homes with water issues to (hopefully!) prevent future flooding.

At our Kentucky home in Plymouth, there were some unexpected health developments that caused us to do a full home remodel, quickly, for the safety of those in the home. An elevator was added to allow access to both levels of the home, roll in shower and wall mounted sinks were installed to accommodate wheelchairs in the bathroom, and more than 750 square feet of space was added to give the home a more open, accessible floor plan, allowing easy access to everyone in the home. All this remodeling was done while those who live in the home were at work, an average of five and a half hours a day with minimal disruption.

Sometimes a full home remodel like Kentucky is not structurally possible, and that’s when we have to look at purchasing a new home. This summer we replaced a split level home in Minnetonka (Sumac) with a home in Eden Prairie to better fit the four women who live in the home. It has a more open floor plan and can accommodate the installation of an elevator, if needed. Like any new home, we had to make changes there too, installing new doors for our keyless entry system and bringing the deck up to code.

This year we have installed gutter guards and replaced carpet with vinyl flooring (for increased accessibility/mobility of wheelchairs and easier maintenance). We have replaced drafty windows, leaky roofs, and older vinyl siding with maintenance free, insulated steel siding.

Soon we will be doing two kitchen remodels to improve accessibility and safety for those who live and work in the home. We will be making a couple bathrooms more accessible by installing a roll-in shower, a freedom tub and a wall hanging sink. There will of course be an unexpected project or two that will come up and throw a wrench into our plans.

And that’s okay, because with your support, we will take care of it.

The post Making a House (or Apartment) a Home appeared first on Hammer.