Priscila’s CAPABLE Story

“She’s such a people person,” her daughter shares. And now, she can more easily and safely connect.

Priscilla, 83, has not always felt safe walking down her front steps to greet her neighbors in her Green Valley Ranch cul-de-sac.

“Now, she feels much safer going down the front stairs to take a walk,” says her daughter Latanya. “Mom loves greeting the neighbors. She is always waving and asking the neighbors about their children and husbands.”

Thanks to the Community Aging in Place – Advancing Better Living for Elders (CAPABLE) program, Priscilla’s home received much-needed updates and repairs that have allowed her to feel secure in her own space – and connect more easily with her community. Priscilla has also received at-home health care through the program. CAPABLE is a partnership between Habitat Metro Denver and the Colorado Visiting Nurse Association that provides medical support and home repairs to improve comfort and mobility for low-income homeowners.

Habitat staff installed grab bars in Priscilla’s shower so she can more easily navigate her tub and bathroom. The CAPABLE program has supported her with both home repairs and at-home health care.

Through the CAPABLE partnership, Habitat staff installed a sturdy railing next to Priscilla’s stairs. Priscilla shares the two-story home with her daughter, LaTanya, and her husband, Lonnie.

Habitat staff also installed new banisters indoors from the home’s main floor to the second floor, where the bedrooms are located, and from the main floor to the basement. Both sets of stairs already had a handrail on one side, but the second banister offers extra stability.

“The stairs are very steep. Both mom and I feel safer and have more confidence climbing up and down the stairs now,” Latanya shares. Habitat also installed grab bars in the two bathrooms. “My mom has been taking showers for years, but she is so pleased that she can now take a bath if she wants because of the grab bars.”

“Both mom and I feel safer and have more confidence,”
said LaTanya.

Priscilla, 83, was a registered nurse and a clinical instructor during her career and bought her four-bedroom home 25 years ago – making her one of the original homeowners on the cul de sac. She heard about the CAPABLE program through a friend at church. Latanya moved in with her mother 10 years ago when she retired.

The Habitat volunteers also installed a raised toilet in Priscilla’s bathroom. When the crew learned that Latanya was getting a hip replacement, they sped up the work on the bathroom grab bars.

“We got to meet some really wonderful people. You could tell they really cared about the work they were doing and their clients,” Latanya shares. “Both my mom and I are really grateful for Habitat and CAPABLE. They really make a difference in people’s lives.”