Volunteers from 12 Metro Detroit Home Depot locations are spending five days modifying the Clinton Township home of Richard Lumetta, a disabled Navy veteran who wants to remain safe and independent there. The project is expected to be completed Saturday, according to WXYZ.
A Grant Aimed at Independence, Not Institutionalization
The Home Depot Foundation grant is funding modifications intended to make Lumetta's home easier to enter, leave and navigate, according to WXYZ Channel 7. The foundation partnered with Team Patton Outreach on the project.
Tammy T. Patton, who leads Team Patton Outreach, said the changes are intended to help Lumetta continue living at home rather than move to a nursing facility, according to WXYZ. Patton and Lumetta met through physical therapy, and that relationship eventually led to the renovation.
What the Renovation Actually Changes
Other Help for Home Accessibility
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans and service members with certain service-connected disabilities may qualify for housing grants to modify a home and live more independently.
Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services says its State Emergency Relief program can help eligible homeowners address certain unsafe home conditions and restore essential services, although income and other requirements apply.
Local Options for Home Safety
For veterans seeking benefits or related assistance, Macomb County Veterans Services offers appointment-based services in Clinton Township and helps county veterans and their families pursue available veterans benefits. The Macomb County Safe at Home program is available to residents age 60 and older for professional home-safety assessments and possible installation of safety or accessibility devices, although the county says the program currently has a waitlist.
The work focuses on removing everyday barriers inside the house. Crews are moving the washing machine to a spare bedroom so Lumetta will not need to use the stairs for laundry, and replacing carpet with laminate flooring to make it easier for him to move around with his walker.
Other planned changes include rehanging doors, adding railings at the side and front entrances, repainting the house and reworking the landscaping. Rodney Morisette, operations assistant store manager for the Home Depot in Utica, described the project scope to the station as volunteers worked through the upgrades.
A Foundation Born From Loss
Team Patton Outreach is Tammy Patton's own foundation, and she is a veteran herself. Patton, per WXYZ, said she was inspired to give back by the loss of her 16-day-old daughter, Erin, 25 years ago. That framing lines up with an earlier account from C&G Newspapers, which reported that Tammy and Cliff Patton founded Team Patton Outreach to memorialize Erin's life after she died in 2001.
That same C&G Newspapers report detailed a 2023 blanket-making event the group held at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library, where volunteers produced 111 blankets in a single six-hour period. The event illustrates the hands-on charitable work the organization has undertaken since its founding.
Lumetta's Reaction
Lumetta said the work had already exceeded his expectations, according to WXYZ. Once completed, the changes are intended to provide him with a safer, more accessible home for the years ahead.
