Marsha is a lifelong Washington, D.C. resident who recently retired after working in the medical field. Retirement hasn’t slowed her down as she now spends time with her grandsons, helps provide care to family members, and loves going to the senior wellness center to spend time with the other ladies who attend. She also loves to swim and attends fitness classes at the pool.
In 2023, she had a knee replacement and started developing glaucoma. She connected with the District’s Safe at Home program to help make her home more accessible for her current needs. As a partner in the program, Habitat DC-NOVA installed stair railings to help provide additional stability, a light on her stairs to provide better visibility, and modifications like grab bars in her bathroom. She shared “I’m a tub person, I love taking a bath. But after I had my knee done, I had some difficulty in getting up. I would tell people it would take me six weeks to get out of that bathtub. With the rails in place, I can get out better and they help tremendously.”
The stair railings and light make Marsha and her whole family safer, and she didn’t have to wait to be able to afford them thanks to the Safe at Home program. “I feel less stressed, especially with the basement steps, because my youngest grand boy and others have fallen down them. I feel like it’s a safety measure now. You put the light on, and you can hold on to the rail as you go up and down. It’s a gift and a blessing.”
