Over the past two years our staff at Grant County Senior Services, Inc. (“GCSS”), have provided our community with articles on a vast array of topics we consider important to our elders and their continued search for quality and meaning in later life. These articles, which are published every first and third Tuesday of the month, range from Tai Chi Chuan to Bioethics of Aging; from Encore Careers for Retirees to Economics of Retirement, and much more.

We’d like to use this week’s column to introduce and describe the array of services provided by our non-profit 501c3 organization. GCSS was founded in 1980 and has grown into an organization of over sixty employees with approximately one million dollars of state and federal funding, annually.

Our ‘mission’ is to promote our elders’ independence, preserve their dignity and enhance their quality of life through the provision of nutritional and social services and in-home care.

Our ‘vision’ is to be recognized as the premier provider of services for our elders; where their physical, emotional and social needs are met; where they can sustain their independence and remain active; and where the contributions made in the past and the vital role they play in the future are recognized and celebrated.

We have adopted the bonsai tree as our logo because it represents successful aging. In fact the tree’s aging process and careful cultivation is what allows it’s beauty and strength to be so inspiring.

Our mission and vision guide and inspire our efforts with constant reflection on and re-alignment with our core values: Commitment, Respect, Excellence and Integrity.

Working hand in hand with other agencies in the area, we provide a continuum of services designed to keep our elders independent, active and socially engaged. Most of our services are delivered through the operations of four senior activity centers and one meal site here in Grant County.

GCSS’s Senior Centers are located in Mimbres, Gila, Santa Clara and Silver City. Each center provides congregate and home delivered meals, and transportation services to and from the center, medical appointments, shopping and social functions. Centers also provide an array of activities, social events and opportunities for volunteering. We are proud of these ‘community owned and operated’ facilities, and are always on the look out to find new ways of utilizing these resources in order to better serve our seniors and our communities. These services are provided to any senior over sixty years of age.

Our In-Home Services programs are designed to allow older adults to remain living in their homes as comfortably and independently as possible, thus avoiding and/or postponing institutionalization in long term care facilities.

GCSS staff provide assistance in housework, shopping and laundry free of charge to qualified seniors that have limitations that prohibit them from performing some of the basic activities needed for a clean and safe home environment. Priority is given to minority and /or low income clients.

Volunteerism has long been acknowledged as a major way of keeping seniors active and socially engaged as well as providing a sense of meaning and satisfaction in giving back to the community. GCSS manages three federally and state funded senior volunteer programs.

• Foster Grandparent Program
• Senior Companion Program
• RSVP Senior Volunteer Program

The Foster Grandparent Program is a unique volunteer opportunity for senior citizens 60 years and older to help children and youth by assisting in the schools. Volunteers receive a small stipend for spending 20 hours a week in the classroom with their assigned children.

The Senior Companion Program matches low-income persons, 60 years and older, with homebound seniors, who are need of social contact and meaningful relationships. Volunteers receive a stipend and serve an average of 20 hours per week.

The RSVP Volunteer Program helps people age 55 and above find service opportunities in Grant County. RSVP matches seniors’ personal interests and makes use of their skills at the places they select to serve.

We have partnered with New Mexico Senior Olympics and sponsor their regional coordinator who has become an integral part of our Grant County Senior Services team. These Olympics were founded to ensure our elders have the resources needed to engage in athletic activities and to demonstrate their growth and skills in competitions; locally, statewide and at a national level.

GCSS continues to collaborate with local agencies and non-profits to most effectively and efficiently address other service needs of our elders. A few of the initiatives we have helped develop and implement include:

• Citizen Corps Council focused on citizen organized emergency response.

• Conscious Aging Network providing meaningful activities including elder discussion groups. senior housing issues, untold stories, school mentorship.
• Skilled Senior Workforce Program designed to provide seniors with meaningful late life work and our local employers a resource of skilled mature dependable employees.
• Commodity Pick Up and Delivery to homebound seniors.
• Corre Casitas senior bus routes to low income and senior housing.

An “Assisted Senior On Demand Transportation Program” is our most recent project and is designed to provide transportation to frail seniors with the help of ride along ‘escorts’ from Western New Mexico University’s Social Works Department. This program is planned to commence operations in the spring of this year, once we have developed and trained a volunteer driver pool to operate our brand new fully equipped handicap van. Elders needing assisted transportation will be asked to call our home office at least a day in advance to schedule their rides. Seniors over 60 who are registered with us will ride for free. A nominal donation is suggested to help us defray some of the operating costs such as fuel.

We will be ‘showcasing’ Grant County Senior Service programs for our next few columns, providing a closer look at each of our major service deliveries: Senior Center Operations, Volunteerism, In-Home Services and Transportation.

We invite all our readers to find out more about us and what we do by visiting our website located at www.grantcountyseniorservices.org . For other questions you might have concerning our services please contact this writer at 575-388-2523 or rsvpgrant@zianet.com .