Labor union teams up with nonprofit to keep seniors safe in their homes

For 17 years, Barbara Smith has called the house near Olde Towne Bellevue home. Her husband died shortly after they moved in, so now it’s just the 87-year-old and her three cats.

But on Saturday morning, her dining room had a few extra guests: Three broad-shouldered electricians who volunteered their Saturday to provide free electrical repairs for low-income elderly homeowners.

After switching out a couple of her electrical outlets for safer ones, the guys posed for a photo and took a few moments to chat with Smith, chuckling at her attempts to set them up with her granddaughter.

Smith was one of 18 homeowners in Douglas and Sarpy Counties who received repairs as part of Powering Hope, a day when members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ Local 22 labor union volunteer with Rebuilding Together Omaha, a nonprofit that provides home repairs and modifications to low-income and disabled homeowners.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/goodnews/labor-union-teams-up-with-nonprofit-to-keep-seniors-safe/article_c9b67479-7ace-5ca5-ab99-287e2bb8be4b.html