Statements
Mission
"To provide home modifications for families who have children or young adults with disabilities.
Background
Tucker's House was founded in 2009 by Sunny Rosanbalm after she witnessed the incredible difficulties her son Josh and his wife were having as they attempted to properly care for their son Tucker in their poorly equipped home. Due to Tucker's cerebral palsy, he cannot talk or walk, and basic things such as moving him from his wheel chair into the bathtub were taking their toll. Their home wasn't accessible, putting Tucker and all his caregivers at great risk for injury and the accompanying emotional trauma that can come with things such as dropping a child. After searching for affordable retrofit services and finding none, Sunny started Tucker's House to partner with families of children with disabilities ages 2-22 by providing professional assessments of and retrofits to their homes; making them safe, accessible, and conducive to the greatest independence for the child. A physical therapist and architectural designer meet with each family to evaluate the unique diagnosis and current structural conditions. After this, a plan is made for the retrofit, and a project manager takes the project through to completion. For several years, Sunny?herself an architectural designer?did much of the work on her own. Currently Tucker's House has a staff of three full-time and two part-time employees and the assistance of two contracted professionals. To date, Tucker's House has served hundreds of families, rescuing them from the physical and emotional trauma commonly experienced in these homes. Caregivers can lift a child up to 5,000 times a year, putting them and the child at high risk of injury. Tucker's House greatly reduces these risks with projects such as widened doors, ramps, lifts, solid-surface flooring, and roll-in showers. The immediate positive impact of our projects is felt every day for the entire lifetime of the families we serve or for as long as they remain in the home. The number of families in need of modifications such as these is great, and currently there is a long waiting list.
Impact
In 2020, we provided a $597,932 value of impact to the community through our home & community projects.
Here are some of our Program Highlights:
- 43 families served
- 145 Clients Served
- 130 Projects Completed
- 23 Architectural Design Plans
- 17 Accessible Bathrooms
- 22 Lift & Equipment Installs
- 24 Doorways Widened for Accessibility
- 9 Durable Medical Equipment Placements & Trainings
- 16 Ramp & Safety Equipment Installs
Needs
The average cost of a home renovation we complete is $15,000. We need funding to continue serving the needs of these families in our community. We receive calls asking for assistance outside of our service area. We hope to expand into other cities in Tennessee in the next 3-5 years and we need funds to build our capacity and expand our reach. We are also looking to partner with companies in the construction field who are willing to donate labor & materials. This helps us to keep our costs down on our projects.
CEO Statement
Tucker's House addresses an endless need in our community: the homes of special needs children that require modification in order to be accessible, safe, and physical therapy friendly. Families of children with special needs quite often face a lifetime of challenges. Regular costs such as doctor's care, medication, therapy, equipment needs, special education, child care, special training and many other services leave little money left for home modification. Even though the retrofit would make a huge difference in their lives, it is a necessity that they cannot afford. An inadequate home is unsafe for a child with special needs and for any caregiver. Quite often parents have back, shoulder, knee and other joint problems from lifting and carrying their child simply because their home is not accessible. Caregivers will on average lift and transfer their child with disabilities over 5000 times a year. In addition, a child with special needs may not be able to carry out his or her daily routine or therapy in a home that is not adequately modified. Conditions such as having solid surfaces, wider doorways and hallways may be necessary to accommodate a wheelchair or gait trainer and other adaptive equipment. An inadequate bathroom becomes a safety issue as well as another loss of a therapy opportunity for the child to perform activities of daily living. Our vision is for all families of children with disabilities to have access to resources in order to help meet their immediate, intermediate, and long term needs. We want to make these homes a place that is not only accessible and safe, but a place where special needs children can carry out their necessary daily therapy in order to reach their full potential.
Board Chair Statement
Tucker's House continues to receive great support from the Middle Tennessee communities we serve. Additionally, we are blessed to have people on our Board who have clinical, construction, investment, and business expertise, as well as important connections within the community. We are excited about our future and the and the stage is set for continued growth!Our unique operational processes offer hope, value and love to families of children with severe physical disabilities. From the application process, through design, construction and follow-up; our goal is to provide a safe, comfortable retrofit that will help ensure therapy plans can work easily and effectively. Additionally, some board members have a beloved child within their immediate family who is dealing with a physical disability. This dynamic creates a passion for our mission that transcends the tactical, day-to-day operational aspects of our work and helps to remind us why we serve. As blessed as we are, we realize our greatest challenge is creating a steady flow of funds in order to meet the many demands that are placed before us. The needs are unlimited, and the financial resources are finite. We will aggressively work to grow our financial resources through active fund raising, web-based marketing, and leveraging personal connections. We have the passion, drive, perseverance, and creativity to foster a well-resourced environment. As a steward of Tucker's House, I am immensely humbled by the challenges our families face each day in providing the most basic of care to their children. This is a key motivating factor behind providing a service that can truly help make a house a safe and therapy friendly home. It is an honor to serve with such a talented group of individuals who genuinely want to make a difference in the lives of these amazing families.
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Developmentally Disabled Services/Centers |
| Secondary Category: | Health Care - Health Support |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Tucker's House serves homes within a one hour drive radius of Franklin, TN
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Wilson |
