In 2010, I landed a job as a receptionist at a community-service employment-program office that helped senior citizens find meaningful work. The longer I was there, the more government and nonprofit resources for seniors I learned about.
Many of the people who came in didn’t know what services were available to them to help with common problems like needing insurance, being unable to drive themselves to medical appointments, or finding people to do home repairs.
What if all of the information was available in one place? I thought. I spoke to my pastor at New Martinsville First Christian Church about making people aware of these services. He loved the idea, and let me set up shop in an office at the church and post the hours and phone number on the church website. We called it Senior Access Point.
I helped one woman get money to fix a rotted porch through a United States Department of Agriculture program. I helped people who weren’t old enough for Medicare get insurance coverage through West Virginia’s Health Right program. And I helped a lot of veterans finally tap into their VA benefits.
Every community has some underused resources. Maybe you can help your neighbors find the ones that will make their lives better.
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