Senior Connections

Senior Connections AmeriCorps program presentation at the Kentucky AmeriCorps Member Event on Jan. 19, 2011. Script below.

Learn more about Senior Connections and other Kentucky AmeriCorps programs at
http://chfs.ky.gov/dfrcvs/kccvs/americorps/programs/.

Script:

My name is Wanda Byard, and I am a first year AmeriCorps member. I serve in the Senior Connections program with my home site at Hancock County
Senior Center in Hawesville, Kentucky. I have always had a passion for
helping the elderly. I have worked in nursing facilities from the time I was 16
and I spent over 20 years caring for the elderly. In my home base accounting
business, I continue to help the elderly with their taxes and other services for
free or at minimal cost.

AmeriCorps in the Owensboro area provides two service programs: the first
is the Senior Connections program and second is the Benefits Outreach
program. The Senior Connections program began around 1997 and is one of
the oldest programs in the state of Kentucky. We cover seven (7) counties
and our membership went from 20 members in 2009 to 30 members in
2010. The Owensboro AmeriCorps Senior Connections is an Encore program.
That means we specifically recruit members who are age 55 or older. Sixty
percent of our members are 55 and older some members are in their 70's.
Both Senior Connections and Benefit Outreach programs serves to improve
the quality of life for seniors in the seven county GRADD areas. They help
those who need assistance in order to maintain their independence. As
AmeriCorps members, we serve at various sites in the seven counties. The
different sites includes: Career Centers, Habitat for Humanity, Hospice,
Senior Centers, Senior Living Facilities, Housing Authority, Homeless Shelters
such as the Pitino Shelter, Daycares and the Red Cross to name a few.

Senior Connections provide direct services through meals on wheels, friendly
home visits, and daily telephone reassurance calls. Through each of these
programs I have talked to and met each person I talked to on the phone. It
is great putting a face with a voice on the phone. We provide transportation
for our clients to the doctor or just to run an errand for them. We do
Medicare benefit counseling and occasionally home repair and maintenance.

I personally enjoy talking to those on my reassurance call list. Several clients
have told me sometimes I am the only person they have talked to during the
day. Others let me know if they are sick and need someone to help them. I
let the director of my service center know the situation and she gets them
the help they need. This help may be a sitter, a personal care giver, a
housekeeper, or whatever the need may be, we do our best to provide the
services most needed by our clients.

Two of our members serve with the Benefits Outreach program. The Benefits
Outreach program partners with area organizations within the GRADD
counties as well as with other organizations around the state. The Benefits
Checkup is a web screening tool, financial questionnaire, and comprehensive
database developed by the National Council on Aging (NCOA). It determines
possible eligibility for over thirty benefit programs and provides information
on what agencies provide those benefits and their contact information. Our
clients take the information and go to the appropriate agency for the aid they
may need.

The website for the Benefits Checkup Questionnaire for Kentucky is located
at http://www.benefitscheckup.org/gradd.

Examples of the most popular benefit programs include:
Medicare Prescription Drugs -- for people with limited income and
resources.
Medicare Savings Programs -- has three levels of assistance that pays Part
B premium and varying amounts of deductible and actual costs of
doctor visits and lab work.
Private Rx Plans -- Programs provided by pharmaceutical companies to
supply free medications to low-income people with no insurance.
Medicaid - Federal and state program to supply most medical cost for lowincome
individuals.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) -- income to supplement Social
Security.
Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) -- used to be
food stamps now they are Debit cards to be used at grocery stores.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) -- provides help for
heating/ utilities in winter months.
State Property Tax Relief/Rebate -- exemption that reduces property
taxes for senior homeowners.

These programs not only help the elderly; they also help anyone who is
disabled or considered low-income families.

I personally love the service I do in the Senior Connections program. I have
listened to those who share stories of loved ones who have passed on and
the stories of the love they shared with their sole mates. I hear the loneliness
in their voices and the pride they feel as they speak about their families. So I
leave you with one request. Take the time to listen to an elderly person; they
have a lot of knowledge, wisdom and memories to share.

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