Introducing the Hearts & Hammers Safe Access Initiative

Most Hearts & Hammers projects focus on painting, siding, deck repairs, landscaping, and other exterior maintenance. But two recent homeowners showed us a need that our traditional program is not set up to address.

Both needed a safe way to enter and leave their homes. We could not solve either problem by simply adding another repair to a volunteer Program Day.

Those two projects led us to launch the Hearts & Hammers Safe Access Initiative.

A long-awaited ramp for Marcella
Marcella is a 71-year-old homeowner who has lived in her home for more than 48 years.

She first came to Hearts & Hammers through our traditional exterior repair program. In 2025, volunteers painted her home and garage and completed other exterior improvements.

But Marcella still needed an accessibility ramp.She uses a walker and had been waiting almost two years for a ramp. Marcella is also the primary caregiver for her adult son, who has a disability. Safe access to their home is important for both of them.

Building the ramp correctly required more planning and technical expertise than we could provide through a typical volunteer Program Day. Hearts & Hammers began working with Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota to develop a safe, code-compliant design for the property.

Work is now underway on a new ramp and expanded entryway for Marcella’s home.

An unsafe ramp at Kimberly’s home

This year, Quartersawn Design + Build sponsored the home of Kimberly, a 56-year-old homeowner who lives alone.

The Quartersawn team painted her garage and deck and repaired a separate set of stairs leading from a deck. That work made one part of Kimberly’s home safer, but her existing accessibility ramp presented a different problem.

The ramp had been built by a handyman. It was too steep and did not have adequate railings. Repairing only part of it would have left the underlying safety problems in place and created liability concerns for the volunteer team and Hearts & Hammers.

Quartersawn could safely repair the stairs and complete the other work at Kimberly’s home, but we could not responsibly include the ramp in the project scope.

Kimberly still needed a safe ramp, and Hearts & Hammers needed a better way to take on projects like hers.

Creating a new approach

Safe, code-compliant accessibility improvements can cost thousands of dollars. That puts them beyond the reach of many homeowners living on low or fixed incomes.

Other accessibility programs do important work, but their capacity is limited. Application periods may close for months, and homeowners can wait years for assistance. Hearts & Hammers cannot close this gap alone, but we can use our experience and volunteer network to help more homeowners.

The Safe Access Initiative gives Hearts & Hammers a way to take on some of this work responsibly. Projects may include accessibility ramps, replacement stairs, handrails, walkways, and other exterior improvements needed for safe entry to and exit from the home. The stairs repaired at Kimberly’s home show how a relatively straightforward project can improve safe access. Her ramp will require a more extensive solution.

Volunteers will continue to play an important role, but these projects also require proper design, skilled oversight, and the right community partners. Our work with Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota on Marcella’s ramp is an early example of how that model can work.

For years, Hearts & Hammers has worked to catch deferred maintenance before it becomes a much larger and more expensive problem. Safe Access applies that same thinking to accessibility. An unsafe stairway or ramp should be addressed before it leads to a fall or prevents someone from safely leaving home.

Help us get started

Hearts & Hammers has set an initial fundraising goal of $15,000 to help complete our first two Safe Access projects and establish the initiative for additional homeowners.

Safe access will help Marcella and Kimberly remain independent in their own homes. With support, we can provide that same opportunity to more homeowners.

Support the Hearts & Hammers Safe Access Initiative.(opens in new tab)