Marlene & Cleo

Marlene and Cleo were looking for a place to call home. More than that, they needed a place that was affordable, safe, and wheelchair accessible. Cleo suffered a stroke in the past and needs a wheelchair to get around, but their current home does not provide ample accommodations.

Narrow doorways and inaccessible bathtubs, for example, made life difficult and unsafe for their family.

They applied to Habitat, eager to find a home that could meet their needs but not be too expensive. Once they were selected, they were comforted to know that their future home would be built with their needs in mind.

“Building with Habitat means a safer, more accessible home for him and I,” says Marlene.

Habitat is rehabilitating a home at 611 Adams Street in La Crosse for the family. Throughout the project, our construction crew was thinking about accessibility and aging-in-place, allowing Cleo and Marlene to call this house home for many years. Habitat crews installed a wheelchair ramp, grab bars, ADA shower, and a pedestal sink, among other updates.

Along the way, Marlene & Cleo are putting in 350 sweat equity hours by volunteering at the ReStore. They will purchase the house from Habitat using a 0% loan when it is complete.