Council on Aging Volunteers Lend Helping Hand to Stoughton Senior

Ed Kimtis said he didn’t really know Jim Grant and Donald Interrante, but because of the goodwill of these two Stoughton residents, the hope is that Kimtis, 86, will have an easier time entering and leaving his home on the corner of Central and Lincoln Streets.

Grant and Interrante, volunteers at the , built a 29-foot ramp running from the driveway to the back porch, along the side of Kimtis’ house. It took more than 20 hours to complete.

But, Kimtis can now enter his house through his back sliding door, instead of having to negotiate his front steps.

Bus drivers at the Senior Center requested a ramp of this sort be built because they were having trouble helping Kimtis into his house after his appointments, Interrante said. Kimtis can walk, but the ramp will allow caregivers to wheel him into his house.

Grant and Interrante and other volunteers at the Council on Aging work on projects like these for no money.  The materials are usually donated or bought by the family.

“We don’t get paid for this, but we feel good when it’s finished,” Grant said. “It’s a worthwhile thing to do.”

Grant said the projects he’s worked on include building different types of ramps, or different sets of steps that can better accommodate someone using a walker.

Grant said the “main principle” of projects like this is that some seniors have trouble accessing their home and this can help extend the time they stay in their house without having to move to an assisted living facility.

Neither Grant nor Interrante are professional carpenters, but both have experience with handy work and similar-sized do-it-your-self construction projects. 

Interrante called himself a “rough carpenter.” Grant quipped, “We he says rough, he really means rough.”

All joking aside, Interrante said the work done is “professional, neat and meets standards.”

Kimtis said he’s only used the ramp once so far since it has been completed, but said he hopes it will make getting into his house an easier task.