Helping Seniors Stay at Home

Last year, Tom Carroll fielded a call from a client who needed help getting to Spokane for dialysis four days a week. Carroll said no problem. As the director for the Senior Services program at Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, he often arranges rides for seniors or people living with disabilities in rural communities. He asked where the client lived. The answer was north of Usk, approaching the Canadian border.

Requests like this to Catholic Charities are increasingly common. The number of aging baby boomers who are aging in place and need support for daily living is increasing at a rapid rate. Carroll rose to the challenge and collaborated with another agency to help the client make each 140-mile roundtrip.

Catholic Charities works with parishes and community partners to operate programs that support rural residents. More than half of the diocese’s population is rural, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

In addition to Senior Services, programs benefitting rural residents include Parish Social Ministry, Emergency Assistance, Counseling, Food for All, PREPARES and Housing and Immigration Legal Services.

The Senior Services program is managed out of Spokane and has regional offices located in Walla Walla, Colville, Pasco and Wilbur. Its offerings include a state-funded initiative designed to help low-income seniors and those living with disabilities stay in their homes. Volunteers, who undergo background checks, visit clients to provide fellowship, help with basic chores and assist with transportation.

“I like to think of Catholic Charities as that extended family in the community,” Carroll said, “that can help with those tough requests when no one else can.” In rural counties, up to 95 percent of the assistance Senior Services provides is related to transportation.

Seniors or their caregivers can start the process by contacting Catholic Charities to complete an over-the-phone intake. Case managers will take the client’s information, determine how often the client needs the service, and check their income quali cations. Income is self-reported and not verified. The case manager will then match the client with a volunteer who best fits their need.

“We don’t want to be the third door that closes on them; we want to be the first one that opens,” Carroll said.

To get help with chores, call Program Manager Cyndie Lapke at 509.459.6172. To volunteer, contact Catholic Charities at [email protected]