Faith group repairs homes of elderly in need

Homes of about a dozen MEOC clients received much-needed repairs and renovations in late June as part of a local faith group’s mission project.

Wise Baptist Church joined with the Nickelsville-based Southwest Virginia Partnership to build eight wheelchair ramps, replace two roofs, clean gutters, paint exteriors and complete various handyman projects for the clients. The group of about 70 volunteers also completed other projects in the community.

The work was completed during the week of June 20-27. The faith groups funded the projects.

The faith community’s partnership with MEOC to provide home repairs and accessibility modifications has garnered national attention. The partnership received a 2011 National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) Innovations award and was a presenter on n4a’s Home for the Holidays 2019 campaign webinar. In 2016 the partnership also won a Virginia Commonwealth Council on Aging best practices award.