Because of her knee problems, it’s getting harder for Carol Hoderny, 75, to manage the steps in the historic Erie home where she’s lived with her husband for four decades.

To go up the 14 steps to the second floor — and down nine steps to the basement — it’s been “a little tough” over the last year, says the retired sales associate and tavern owner.

The Hodernys hope to have a banister installed along the basement steps, among other improvements, through a free home modification program offered by the Bayfront East Side Taskforce, a nonprofit that works to revitalize Erie’s oldest neighborhood.

The task force received a $2,500 AARP Community Challenge grant to help fund the work. It was one of eight grants AARP awarded to Pennsylvania entities this year, for a total of $86,500.

The Community Challenge program funds quick-action projects aimed at making communities more livable by improving public spaces, housing, and transportation, among other goals. Nationally, AARP awarded $3.8 million in grants for 343 projects in 2024.

In Erie, the task force’s staff will visit the homes of interested residents to make a needs assessment and then install amenities such as grab bars, handheld showerheads, light fixtures, and window air conditioners. More than 30 percent of the approximately 2,000 residents in the neighborhood live below the poverty level, says Marcia Farrell, the group’s Grants Director.

“They don’t want to leave,” she said. “But many don’t have the money to have home health care or to make small, minor adjustments to their home to make it a little safer for them.”

Housing a focus

Nora Dowd Eisenhower, AARP Pennsylvania’s Volunteer State President, says even such small upgrades “can make a huge difference in the livability and the safety of the house.”

With housing prices on the rise nationwide, several of this year’s Pennsylvania grants seek to address housing accessibility or affordability.

The Community Design Collaborative of Philadelphia, a nonprofit that uses design to strengthen communities, was awarded $23,000 to help lower the barriers to building accessory dwelling units. ADUs are typically self-contained units, such as a basement or garage apartment, built on the same property as an existing single-family home.

The growth of ADUs has often been hampered by restrictive zoning and lengthy reviews, as well as public resistance to their construction.

The collaborative will use its grant to host a contest for designers and students to develop affordable, attractive ADU and tiny house prototypes. The group then hopes to advocate for city officials to create new guidelines for such housing, says Tya Winn, Executive Director of the nonprofit.

Small, affordable housing units are ideal for older residents looking to downsize, she says. “It creates better opportunities for you to be independent but still in the context of a larger community.”

The grant will also help the nonprofit launch a public awareness campaign to address concerns some may have about the effect of ADUs on property values.

Other AARP grants awarded in the state this year include:

• In Easton, a $2,500 grant to Juneteenth Lehigh Valley will help pay for a walk-and-run audit through downtown to identify a path for health-conscious older adults.
• In Hatfield, the Greater North Penn Area Transportation Management Association received $2,500 for bike audits to find good locations for new bike lanes, repair stations, bike racks, and signage.
• In Norristown, the nonprofit Family Services was awarded $20,000 to recruit homeowners willing to share their homes with older adults who wish to age in place.
• In Philadelphia, the nonprofit UUH Outreach Program received $2,500 to host three educational workshops for older adults on how to age in place safely.
• In York, the community organization Crispus Attucks York secured $18,500 to install musical instruments at the Sonny Simpson Play Zone.

The York project aims to facilitate meaningful interactions between older adults and children, says Lori Hoffmaster, the nonprofit’s director of development and marketing. She will buy percussion instruments that can withstand bad weather, and they will be bolted to the play zone.

“We hope there’s some teaching — some exchange of expertise — when you bring kids and older people together,” said AARP’s Eisenhower.

Learn more at AARP Pennsylvania.