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
.