Friends of Newtown Seniors (FONS) has a solution to help support seniors live independently with dignity, according to FONS Chore Services Lead Bev Bennett-Schaedler.

For many local seniors who live at home, help may seem far away with children living elsewhere. The FONS Chore Services program brings help home by organizing volunteers who assist with tasks like replacing smoke detector batteries or window screens. Chore Services can also connect seniors with professionals for larger repairs, though those services are not free, according to the organization’s website, friendsofnewtownseniors.org. But help is also there for those who cannot afford those services, as one resident recently learned, thanks to a recent grant and ongoing donations.

Bennett-Schaedler explained Chore Services tries to provide seniors with a way to continue living in their homes. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, Bennett-Schaedler suspects fewer people are calling for assistance now, and she wants local seniors and their loved ones to know the services are still available. There are people who can help.

One recent Chore Services case helped connect a home’s Wi-Fi to an Amazon Alexa device so a senior who is losing their vision can access the device with their voice, Bennett-Schaedler shared.

She is hoping word will spread that volunteers can sign up to help the FONS Chore Services program by calling her at 203-430-0633. Volunteers may not be called frequently, but when the need arises, they will be called, Bennett-Schaedler explained. Volunteers can be connected with chores like yard clean up, “handyman-type” fixes, or cleaning gutters.

Chores Services does not help with cosmetic work, but focuses on safety issues.

According to Bennett-Schaedler, Chore Services is available to all seniors 55 and older “who are living in their own home and are in need of service because they are no longer able to attend to small jobs that they once did independently.

“We are currently working with a limited number of volunteers but are able to recommend independent companies that come with high recommendations... taking away the guessing game of who to call and trust,” Bennett-Schaedler said.

Tasks the service helps complete include changing lightbulbs, installing and removing air conditioners, replacing fire alarm batteries, furniture removal, furniture rearrangement for safety reasons, tightening loose or unsafe furniture, removing rugs, fixing door handles, and help with computer and electronic problems.

“No job is too small; just ask,” Bennett-Schaedler said.

Recent ‘Chores’

For Dawn Coughlin, who lives in Sandy Hook, FONS Chore Services recently provided assistance for her parents, Claudia and Jim Kelly, who live in the Newtown Woods development.

Coughlin explained that her parents moved to Newtown Woods roughly five years ago. Her father has been very sick, and when assistants recently went to the house, they recommended hand bars be installed, as Coughlin’s mother had been assisting her husband. Through the Newtown Senior Center, Coughlin learned about FONS Chore Services. She reached out to Bennett-Schaedler, who then connected Coughlin with a volunteer.

“He knew exactly what he was doing,” Coughlin said. “He did a fabulous job, and [mom] couldn’t be happier.”

Coughlin said her mother is now comfortable knowing that her husband can use the shower on his own.

“We didn’t know this service existed,” Coughlin said. She added later, “I think seniors ought to know this is out there. [Bennett-Schaedler] can connect them with services that they don’t know how to find on their own.”

Coughlin said her family “fell into” knowing about FONS Chore Services when they needed “something fast.”

“I just wish there was a way for other seniors to know it is out there,” said Coughlin.

For resident Ritamarie Millo, FONS Chore Services helped find more than she knew she needed, and that help is continuing, as donations were needed to fund further repairs.

Millo shared that she lives in a mobile home and a FONS Chore Services volunteer installed bars near her bathtub and toilet to help as she is “put together with bolts and screws” after multiple surgeries.

But when the volunteer arrived, Millo said her roof was noted as about to collapse, and other much-needed repairs were discovered.

Millo said she frequently watches her granddaughter.

“I don’t care about me, I’ve lived my life. Not her: She’s just beginning her life,” Millo said of why she hopes the repairs can be done.

For now there are temporary solutions to help protect the roof.

“I appreciate it, believe me when I tell you, what she did,” Millo said of Bennett-Schaedler’s support in organizing the installation of bars and of a new backing for her bedroom where her home was losing heat.

How To Help

Bennett-Schaedler said those who would like to support FONS Chore Services but who are not able to volunteer can offer support by donating to “Friends of Newtown Seniors Chore Services.” Donations allow the program to continue to afford repairs and help seniors who cannot pay for repairs. For further information about FONS Chore Services or to donate, the mailing address is Friends of Newtown Seniors, PO Box 413, Newtown CT 06470. FONS Chore Services can also be reached by e-mail at fonschoreservices@gmail.com or by phone at 203-430-0633.

Monetary donations, Bennett-Schaedler said, allow “us to purchase those lightbulbs, batteries, and other materials needed to help them safely remain at home.”

What Bennett-Schaedler said she most wants seniors to know is, “We’re here: Don’t hesitate to call.”