Mission Moment
Francine Wilson Jasper realized a personal dream when she bought a home with INHS’s help nearly 25 years ago. Now, she looks forward to staying in that home during her retirement years, again with INHS’s assistance, welcoming her adult children and grandchildren back to the neighborhood where they grew up.
“Being a homeowner is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life,” Francine says. As a newly divorced mother of teenagers, the goal of homeownership felt out of reach, but a Cornell coworker steered her to INHS. While the organization guided her through every step of the process, she picked up an additional part-time job as a census taker to earn down-payment funds. “Buying the home gave me a sense of accomplishment, strength, and faith in the system,” she notes.
Two decades later, while planning for her retirement years, she chose to stay in the home she loved and the Ithaca neighborhood where she had established deep roots. But her historic house, built in 1870, needed modification to be suitable for aging in place. INHS’s Minor and Major Repair Programs stepped in, adding handrails, rebuilding a porch to allow for future installation of a wheelchair ramp, and installing a walk-in shower.
“The walk-in shower—I feel like I hit the lottery,” she says. “INHS builds social capital by investing in people like me. The seniors that I know who had help from INHS, we’re voting, we’re volunteering, we’re looking out to make sure that the neighborhoods are safe.”
For Francine, INHS reflects her values of community engagement. “INHS is the best example of civic engagement that I know. it’s more than just building affordable homes, rental places, and housing—it’s building a city.”
Routine Maintenance and Seasonal Tasks – An INHS Post-Purchase Class – April 22 (In-person)
