Minor Home Repair and Safety Audit Program

Many older adults choose to live independently in their own homes and communities.  NYFSC sponsors the Minor Home Repair and Safety Audit Program’s two services, which help ensure that these New Yorkers remain healthy, safe and independent.  This program serves as a model for the development of similar programs throughout the United States.

Minor Home Repairs

Through this program, age 60+ owners of private homes, condos, co-ops and renters, with consent of and after attempts to enlist their landlords, are benefitting from free, minor home maintenance and repair services.  Offered to individuals with limited finances, these services include minor plumbing, masonry, electrical, carpentry, home readiness for winter and summer, and installing smoke detectors, air conditioners, crime prevention devices, grab bars, as well as some emergency services.

Each year, this highly successful program serves thousands of older homeowners and renters in all five boroughs.  It is made possible through funding from the New York City Department for the Aging Community Development Block Grant funds and from private contributions.

Home Safety Audits

The program offers free home safety audits for older adults by the home repair technicians who check for, identify and correct safety hazards in their homes.  These audits are designed to help prevent household accidents, injuries and burglaries among older homeowners. This service also helps protect older adults, particularly those who are frail or disabled, from dishonest service providers as well as from potential financial scams and other situations that would increase their sense of vulnerability.