Who We Are
Since Senior Services, Inc. began over 37 years ago, its mission has been to serve the elderly in the Kalamazoo County area with dignity, respect and consideration. With programs such as Home Care, Meals On Wheels and volunteer services it succeeded in offering assistance to older adults, and continues today to be the leading expert of aging issues in Southwest Michigan.
Winner of the 1996 Outstanding Volunteers Award, the Helen Coover Emergency Fund at Senior Services is just one example of the agency's dedication to the community's older population. The fund began nearly twenty years ago in 1977 and was named in honor of Helen Coover for her dedication to the well being of seniors. Its purpose is to provide assistance to eligible seniors in crisis situations.
"Helen was the first social worker in Kalamazoo to specialize in serving older adults," said Don Marek, clinical director at Senior Services. "She was a catalyst in creating Senior Services and also hired its first executive director."
In addition to Coover who founded the program, Chairperson Mary Welch, Helen Like, Dr. Ellen Page-Robin, Dic Leonardelli and Joe Dunnigan also serve as committee members.
Among many other things, the Coover Fund has offered assistance to seniors with heating, medical and housing bills.
Requests for assistance are referred to Coover and the other members of the committee by Senior Services and are carefully considered before assistance is given.
"Any senior who needs our help has our consideration," said Welch. "Many seniors have only their Social Security and that's hard to get by on."
Each request is considered by the committee and records are gone over carefully before any decisions are made.
"We often make recommendations expressing concerns about budgeting and expenditures," Marek said. "We try to resolve the problem and prevent it from recurring."
"We do so much for low income seniors," Welch said. "I think that being on this committee is one of the most worthwhile things I do."
The Home Repair program works with the Coover Emergency Fund committee to help repair roof leaks, electrical and plumbing problems and barrier free renovation.
"Because of limited funds, especially for the outlaying areas of Kalamazoo, we often receive funds from the Coover Emergency Fund," said Roger Eriksen, Director of the Home Repair program. "We often do furnace and water well repairs, Anything to keep the individual at their own homes."
According to Marek, it is the long term dedication of this committee that makes it successful.
"These members are committed to furthering the mission of this agency and continue enhancing the lives of seniors in the area," he said.
In addition to the Helen Coover Emergency Fund, Senior Services has continued to offer further services and programs to older adults in the community.
1996 saw the completion of the two-year campaign to build the Pauline Allen Nutrition Center. Named after Pauline Allen who brought the concept of Meals On Meals to Kalamazoo in 1958, this facility opened on July 26, 1996 completely debt free.
"We are providing meals on a needs based level rather than just age based," said Executive Director Robert Littke.
This 8,800 square foot facility can prepare an unlimited number of meals and serves as the American Red Cross emergency food preparation site for Southwest Michigan.
In addition to the Pauline Allen Nutrition Center, Meals On Wheels at Senior Services continues to meet the nutritional needs of seniors.
"In 1996, we served 144,146 meals to 940 unduplicated clients," said program director Ann Wesselhoff.
Senior Services also prepares meals for congregate meals sites such as the Friendship Centers.
"Our Friendship Centers served 63,082 meals in 1996," said Pat Jensen, Director of Friendship Centers.
Meals On Wheels is not only a service to seniors in need but provides volunteer opportunities as well. The abundance of volunteers enables money earned to be restored to the program and allows the agency to serve more individuals. Also, unlike areas such as New York or Detroit, Kalamazoo does not have a waiting list for home delivered meals.
Since Senior Services, Inc. began over 37 years ago, its mission has been to serve the elderly in the Kalamazoo County area with dignity, respect and consideration. With programs such as Home Care, Meals On Wheels and volunteer services it succeeded in offering assistance to older adults, and continues today to be the leading expert of aging issues in Southwest Michigan.
Winner of the 1996 Outstanding Volunteers Award, the Helen Coover Emergency Fund at Senior Services is just one example of the agency's dedication to the community's older population. The fund began nearly twenty years ago in 1977 and was named in honor of Helen Coover for her dedication to the well being of seniors. Its purpose is to provide assistance to eligible seniors in crisis situations.
"Helen was the first social worker in Kalamazoo to specialize in serving older adults," said Don Marek, clinical director at Senior Services. "She was a catalyst in creating Senior Services and also hired its first executive director."
In addition to Coover who founded the program, Chairperson Mary Welch, Helen Like, Dr. Ellen Page-Robin, Dic Leonardelli and Joe Dunnigan also serve as committee members.
Among many other things, the Coover Fund has offered assistance to seniors with heating, medical and housing bills.
Requests for assistance are referred to Coover and the other members of the committee by Senior Services and are carefully considered before assistance is given.
"Any senior who needs our help has our consideration," said Welch. "Many seniors have only their Social Security and that's hard to get by on."
Each request is considered by the committee and records are gone over carefully before any decisions are made.
"We often make recommendations expressing concerns about budgeting and expenditures," Marek said. "We try to resolve the problem and prevent it from recurring."
"We do so much for low income seniors," Welch said. "I think that being on this committee is one of the most worthwhile things I do."
The Home Repair program works with the Coover Emergency Fund committee to help repair roof leaks, electrical and plumbing problems and barrier free renovation.
"Because of limited funds, especially for the outlaying areas of Kalamazoo, we often receive funds from the Coover Emergency Fund," said Roger Eriksen, Director of the Home Repair program. "We often do furnace and water well repairs, Anything to keep the individual at their own homes."
According to Marek, it is the long term dedication of this committee that makes it successful.
"These members are committed to furthering the mission of this agency and continue enhancing the lives of seniors in the area," he said.
In addition to the Helen Coover Emergency Fund, Senior Services has continued to offer further services and programs to older adults in the community.
1996 saw the completion of the two-year campaign to build the Pauline Allen Nutrition Center. Named after Pauline Allen who brought the concept of Meals On Meals to Kalamazoo in 1958, this facility opened on July 26, 1996 completely debt free.
"We are providing meals on a needs based level rather than just age based," said Executive Director Robert Littke.
This 8,800 square foot facility can prepare an unlimited number of meals and serves as the American Red Cross emergency food preparation site for Southwest Michigan.
In addition to the Pauline Allen Nutrition Center, Meals On Wheels at Senior Services continues to meet the nutritional needs of seniors.
"In 1996, we served 144,146 meals to 940 unduplicated clients," said program director Ann Wesselhoff.
Senior Services also prepares meals for congregate meals sites such as the Friendship Centers.
"Our Friendship Centers served 63,082 meals in 1996," said Pat Jensen, Director of Friendship Centers.
Meals On Wheels is not only a service to seniors in need but provides volunteer opportunities as well. The abundance of volunteers enables money earned to be restored to the program and allows the agency to serve more individuals. Also, unlike areas such as New York or Detroit, Kalamazoo does not have a waiting list for home delivered meals.
Senior Services offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities to seniors and others in the community as well. The Senior Companion Program (SCP) and Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) offer opportunities for seniors to volunteer their time to assist other seniors with transportation and errands, perform educational skits concerning aging, tutor and mentor children, help immunize children in the Kalamazoo County area and offer friendship and companionship to home-bound seniors.
In 1996, 750 RSVP volunteers gave an estimated 96,072 hours of service to 118 sites in the community. These hours translate to $1,318,107 worth of service according to an estimate done by the Points of Light Foundation.
RSVP volunteers also participate in special programs such as In-Home Support, STAR- Patrol, Peer Prevention Players and "Every Grandchild By Two".
In-Home Support volunteers visit frail seniors in their homes and provide escort transportation. They also give telephone reassurance calls and help seniors with grocery shopping.
STAR-Patrol volunteers tutor and mentor children in schools all over the county and provide office and library assistance.
The Peer Prevention Players of RSVP perform skits that educate audiences on topics such as substance abuse, the correct use of medicines and scams aimed at seniors.
Finally, "Every Grandchild By Two" volunteers help increase the rate of immunization among Kalamazoo County children up to 35 months of age.
"We are tremendously proud of and grateful to these volunteers for their service to the community," said Wilma Kahn, RSVP Director.
Like RSVP, the Senior Companion program is a national older adult volunteer program. The SCP of Kalamazoo was established in 1974 to provide assistance and friendship to adults with special needs such as developmental disabilities, Alzeimer's disease, and families needing respite care. Currently, SCP of Senior Services has 43 volunteers who serve 186 clients at no cost..
"The benefits of the SCP program are numerous," said Karen Betley, Director of the Senior Companion Program. "It benefits low income senior volunteers with a small wage and allows them to share their skills and lifetime experiences. The clients also benefit from the assistance and companionship that they receive."
The Home Care program also serves home-bound seniors in the area. Eleven trained health aides provide bathing and dressing assistance, light homemaking duties and respite care for primary caregivers.
The program provides service to about 200 people and provides over 250 hours of care a week.
"We strive to keep seniors healthy and happy and to give family members and other caregivers the help they need," said Diane Durian, Director of the Home Care program. "Our program has a great impact on people."
The program receives referrals from physicians, families and other service providers.
"This program has given me the help that no one else has," said one Home Care client.
Senior Services also provides services to Seniors who are not home-bound. In 1996, Transportation Services provided Kalamazoo seniors with 10,194 rides to medical appointments and other destinations.
The Older Adult Recovery Program (OARP) serves older adults age 55 and older with alcohol or substance abuse problems. This past year, counselors served 65 individuals and of this number, an estimated one third attained full recovery and the remaining made significant improvements.
The OARP also offered group therapy to 14 individuals who benefited from each other's recovery experiences.
In 1996, OARP received a three-year accreditation from CARF, The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission. CARF is a national accreditation body in the rehabilitation field and this accreditation represents the highest level of accreditation.
"Being nationally accredited by CARF means that the OARP can be trusted by the community to provide the highest level of quality care," said Don Marek, Clinical Director at Senior Services.
New to the OARP this year is Peggy Sattler, the new OARP Director.
"The program comes to me very well organized," Sattler said. "I'm looking forward to opening it up even further."
The Older Adult Recovery Program offers both in-home and office counseling to older adults.
In addition to the OARP, The Mental Health Counseling Program served 63 persons, mostly in their own homes. Most of these individuals fully succeeded in reaching their treatment goals. This program treats persons with depression, grief, poor adjustment to a loss, anxiety, paranoia and hypochondria.
The Senior Assertive Community Treatment (SrACT) social workers, consisting of registered nurses, occupational therapist, and psychiatrist, served 48 individuals with severe mental illness. This team supported consumers to live as independently and in their own homes.
Senior Services also offers Case Coordination for their clients. The four trained staff members of this service address emergencies such as utility shut-offs, threatened evictions, financial problems, health care and more. They also visit and assess most individuals receiving Meals On Wheels and Home Care.
Senior Services also serves senior caregivers in the community. Compiled and published by the agency, the "Best of Care" catalog is offered free to the community and has listings targeted at older adults.
"It's a great service to seniors and caregivers in the community," said Esther Page-Wood, Director of Information and Referral.
"We see the need to serve seniors growing as the baby boomers become senior citizens," said Littke. "We have met this need in the past and we will continue to do so in the future."