Seniors are Never Alone
United Way partners and volunteers provide independence and basic needs by Westmoreland County Commissioner, Gina Cerilli Thrasher
A
s county commissioner, I’ve been very passionate about non-profit organizations and the senior citizen population of Westmoreland County. During these tumultuous times, United Way’s Open Your Heart to a Senior program has expeditiously addressed both of these with competence and compassion. During a year unlike any other, we all faced struggles. For many seniors in Westmoreland County and across the region who were confined in their homes and quarantined, the pandemic brought on additional hardships. Some felt isolated, disconnected from families, friends and community. Some faced hunger, as traditional means for securing basic needs were upended. Some discovered that digital life – connecting with family, health care and even scheduling vaccine appointments online – was more than they could handle. While the pandemic exposed gaps in the safety net of support for our region’s most vulnerable people, the organization quickly evolved to find solutions to problems beyond food deliveries to addressing loneliness and digital literacy. This was all made possible through collective efforts by United Way programs, volunteers, and partners throughout the community. Prior to the pandemic, seniors received help with everyday tasks like getting food for the week or a ride to a medical appointment. The United Way-funded program called Open Your Heart to a Senior matches volunteers with seniors. Volunteers provide companionship for older adults in need of social interaction and neighborly services like grocery shopping, transportation, running errands, basic home safety inspections and more. The trained, compassionate volunteers provide free, non-medical services to help seniors maintain their quality of life and independence in their own home. During the pandemic, these caring volunteers also became helpful IT assistants, as these simple undertakings proved daunting.
With contactless procedures and safety regulations in place to protect our region from COVID-19, the community relied on online skills to order food and catch up with friends. Many seniors lack access to the internet or have the digital skills to navigate it. When digital literacy was identified as an issue, United Way’s partners ramped up training for volunteers and surveyed participants to learn more about their technology needs to safely improve cyber skills and accessibility. Securing COVID-19 vaccine appointments became particularly problematic for seniors, as many lack internet access or transportation. Seeing this hurdle, United Way partnered with Excela Health in Westmoreland County to help seniors without internet access get COVID-19 vaccines and leveraged partners for transportation to appointments. The new obstacles for seniors caused by COVID-19 rallied volunteers to respond and step up. In just the past year, United Way and 16 agency partners mobilized more than 2,000 volunteers to provide more than 70,000 hours of service to nearly 8,000 older adults region wide. They serve seniors not only through rides and food deliveries but work to improve their mental health and establish Deb, a volunteer with Open Your Heart to a Senior (OYHS), recently spent a morning delivering nutritious food boxes to local older adults.
friendships. Volunteers make weekly calls and provide socialization for many seniors who have been isolated the past year. During the pandemic, these relationships became a lifeline for seniors both physically and emotionally. When seniors were quarantined and didn’t know how they would get their next meal, many in the community turned to United Way’s PA 211 Southwest helpline, according to Alyssa Cholodofsky, Westmoreland Region Director, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. In the five-county region, 211 emergency basic needs requests were 36% higher from March 15 through August 31, 2020 than they were in the same period of 2019. To meet the demand of these needs and feed seniors, United Way’s PA 211 Southwest expanded its Resource Navigator staff which now answers 1,000 requests daily. United Way’s PA 211 volunteers and partners are helping seniors become more independent, connecting them to resources and enabling them to receive the care they need. Currently in the works is a web application called “Helping Hands” by a partner and tech company called Civic Champs that will allow seniors and their families to make requests for help and volunteers to track new opportunities. Even in isolation, no one in the community is truly alone. Programs and partnerships are there to comfort seniors with companionship, keep them safe, and enable them to support themselves. These resources improve seniors’ lives.
If you find yourself in need of help or know someone who is, contact PA 211 Southwest by dialing 2-1-1, texting your zip code to 898-211, or visiting pa211sw.org. To volunteer, call 724-834-7170 and ask for Melaney.
www.go2goalus.com 17
