The following was published by the Herald-Citizen and can be found by clicking here. 

The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency is launching a new home repair program “aimed to assist individuals 60 and over.”

“We hear our senior population say they don’t know who to let in their home, who they can trust [with home repairs],” said Jordan Herald, UCHRA Community Services Assistant Director, in a report to the agency’s policy council Wednesday.

She said the program being undertaken by UCHRA is intended to address that issue.

“It will be a fee-based program where we’re just doing basic repairs in the home,” she said.

UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley added, “Because it is fee-based, because it is something that’s not grant-based, there are no ongoing revenues that cover the expenses of it.”

As a result, he said the program is not specifically targeted to the poor.

“We can’t do free work, so it’ll have to be for the population that can afford to pay for those services,” he said. “We’re going to start off with two individuals that have experience [with] just the light repair, the handyman-type services because that is something we realize that a lot of our seniors need assistance with.”

Farley said the service will be offered initially in Putnam, White, Overton and Jackson counties, but could expand from there.

“It’s something we’re hoping to see expand and grow across all 14 counties as we get it solidified,” he said.

He also stressed that the program is not intended to address major repair issues.

“We’re not structured to where they would need to be licensed contractors,” Farley said. “We’re keeping it very basic. It’ll include things like yard work or gutter cleaning or maybe some very simple light switch changes, [but] nothing that would require any type of licensure.”

He said the two people would be employed by UCHRA and would be operating under the agency’s insurance policies.

An ad for the “home repair technician” job notes that UCHRA is looking for someone to provide “reliable, affordable home repair services for adults aged 60 and older.”

Duties would include accepting calls from potential clients, providing quotes for the services requested and billing for the services once they’re completed.