BILLINGS MEALS ON WHEELS

MOW Coordinator: Jaime • MOW Assistant: Stacy • 1505

Avenue D • 406-259-9666

Adult Resource Alliance’s Meals on Wheels Program (MOW) offers a hot nutritious meal to those over 60 years of age who are homebound. They are delivered by volunteers, Monday through Friday between 10:00 and 12:30. Meals are available on a short-term basis for persons recovering from a hospital stay or surgery until the person is no longer homebound. If a person is able to prepare their own meals, or lives with someone who can prepare their meals you may be denied.

It was a late on a Friday afternoon; I heard music in the hallway outside of my office. This was unusual so I got up to peek out the door. I saw a daughter dancing with her dad! It was so fun to see the light in his eyes and the smile on her face. She had brought her parents into the Alliance to find services that might be of help to them. Living across the country, she was concerned about her mom who was caring for her dad with dementia. They were not driving, and only had neighbors to keep an eye on them. These are people who have made amazing contributions to our community. I recognized them as participants of the Meals on Wheels Program and took the opportunity to say hello. Their daughter was so comforted in knowing that her parents were getting a healthy meal, and someone was checking in on them each day.

I remember my dad teaching me to dance. I would stand on his shoes just like pictures we have all seen. He and my mom loved to dance. They would dress up on New Year’s Eve and go to The Elks Club. I still enjoy looking at the pictures of them over the years. When my mom had a stroke, she and my dad were on the Meals on Wheels Program for a period of time until she was able to begin to cook again. We were grateful, as a family, that they had a meal each day and could focus on the other things that they needed help with.

Navigating services as we age can be quite a dance also! At the Adult Resource Alliance, we have several programs that can help. Our Resource Center can point you in the right direction to most services available in our community. Our Volunteer Program can help you find opportunities to keep you active and making a difference in the world around you. Our Meal Sites provide healthy meals at a very reasonable price, along with activities and social events. They are great places to make new friends or meet old friends for lunch! We can also help with transportation, and we are unfolding a new Senior Circle of Care Program to help meet the needs of our seniors who need some extra support to stay safe and in their own homes. And then there is the Meals on Wheels Program for those nondriving adults over 60.

If you are having surgery and will not be able to drive for a period of time, you can receive Meals on Wheels until you are able to resume driving. Please call if you would like to visit about your situation and see if Meals on Wheels is the right fit for you.

As we “dance” through these golden years I hope you will hold on to the memories of your dancing days. Was it as elegant as ballet or ballroom, as adventurous as the swing or jitterbug, or just a good old waltz or polka? And then, there is always the belly dance and hip hop! I think I’ll leave those to the younger generation!

“Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt; sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.” Mark Twain

“My mom, Mary, is my biggest supporter and my biggest fan. The morning of her stroke, something felt di erent. God was telling me something was wrong.

I checked on my mom and that’s when she told me she couldn’t move her legs. I rushed over and took her to the Emergency Room at Billings Clinic.

When we arrived, the team told me that my mom was having a stroke. They immediately got her in for a thrombectomy to remove the clot.

A nurse came out and called my name, and it was one of the scariest and best parts of my life. I immediately asked, ‘Is my mom okay?’ And she said ‘yes’ with a big smile.

My mom always taught us to give thanks in all things. Now I appreciate how much of a miracle she is and how grateful we are for Billings Clinic.”

- Megan, Mary’s daughter

To learn more about Mary’s story, please visit billingsclinic.com/mary.

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