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.

John Donne's "No Man is an Island" is about the connection between all of humankind. Donne essentially argues that people need each other and are better together than they are in isolation because every individual is one piece of the greater whole that is humanity itself. Our work here at the Alliance provides a way for people to be connected and feel less alone.

Our Meals on Wheels volunteers touch lives daily when they deliver a warm meal and a smile. Occasionally, they discover that they have met a participant before. This happened recently when volunteer drivers, Jim and Peggy Reno, delivered a meal to Yvonne Coleman, a very kind 87-year-old. She recognized Jim from his time as the Director of the Adult Education Program where she was a volunteer tutoring those working to get their GEDs. They were able to reminisce about several of the people they had worked with so many years ago. The visit continued as they discovered that Peggy worked with Yvonne’s son, Brian, while he was a teacher at Skyview and she was a school nurse. It is fun when lives touch and reconnect years later.

One of our MOW’s participants, Betty Brown used to volunteer at The Billings Community Center calling for the Birthday Dinners and helping at Granny’s Attic before becoming homebound. She noticed an ad in our magazine when we were looking for Phone Buddies during the pandemic. She answered the call to became a volunteer Phone Buddy! She now has 2 phone friends who she calls regularly to check on. Several wonderful friendships have grown out of this program. What a great way to continue to keep engaged with others even while homebound.

Our Meals on Wheels volunteers’ range in age from 35 to 91 years of age!

Sometimes, the only difference between our drivers and our participants is a health issue. When we are healthy, it is easy to volunteer, but as we age we might have a surgery or health issue that necessitates that we become the receiver of a little help. The Alliance is in the business of helping seniors to remain at home, as long as they are able to do so, safely. Meals on Wheels is just one way of doing this.

Life is better together, whether by the work we do, volunteering or just keeping in touch with friends and family!