Accessibility Modifications Changed His Life for the Better

“I wasn’t aware of Rebuilding Together Dutchess County until I came across their website on the internet. I was looking for an organization who could help me, and finding them changed my life for the better.”

Robert “Bobby” is a 56-year-old man who lives alone in his Red Hook home. Rebuilding Together Dutchess County served him on National Rebuilding Day in April 2018, completing a number of critical home repairs, including renovating the existing master bath to an accessible bathroom, inspecting and servicing the home's pellet stove, replacing rotten boards on the home’s exterior wheelchair ramp, and installing a guard rail for the home's front ramp. Since Bobby uses a wheelchair, our repairs and accessibility modifications have greatly eased his day to day life. Imbued with the spirit of volunteerism, these repairs not only fostered independence and mobility, but an infectious community interaction of togetherness and possibility, as Bobby described, “It’s amazing that in this day and age people still care and are so compassionate, it’s mind blowing.”

All in all, he says, “The volunteer team on National Rebuilding Day was just extraordinary. The work they did in making my house and my property into much better condition really lifted my spirits. . . . Rebuilding Together Dutchess County’s work exceeded my expectations.”

You can watch his experience here: