EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Anna Mae Berger has lived in her home in East Stroudsburg since 1957, and the place needed some work. She says she's had some health issues recently, and getting around hasn't been easy, especially since the pandemic began.
"I've been shut in, and I couldn't even get out to my mailbox. It's way out to the end of the road, all the way over past that first house, all the way out."
Thanks to Monroe County Habitat for Humanity, Anna Mae will soon regain some of her independence. Anna Mae's daughter applied for a home preservation project for the house, and it was approved. Volunteers spent the day building a ramp so she doesn't have to worry about the dangers of her front steps any longer.
"She desperately needed a ramp on the outside of her house. She had actually fallen more than once coming down her steps, and she hurt her back, and she couldn't afford a ramp," said Kelly Kemmerer with Monroe County Habitat for Humanity.
Volunteers also took on a few other projects around her house.
"She needed new windows on her house; she had rotted windows. A new bedroom floor, she was tripping over her floor in her bedroom when she tried to get to bed at night. She would trip over the linoleum. We also put in new cabinets," Kemmerer said.
Habitat for Humanity has done the home preservation program since 2013, which helps low-income families make necessary repairs to their homes.
"Why should a home be a dangerous place to live in? You know, moisture, pests, anything that could harm people in their own homes and being able to get around," Kemmerer added.
Anna Mae says she can now focus on her health without the worry of the repairs needed to her home.