American actress and singer Eartha Kitt once said, “Aging has a wonderful beauty, and we should respect that,” which is a sentiment shared by this week’s featured nonprofit organization: Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County.
With a commitment to promote and support independent lifestyles, Shepherd’s Center is on-track to serve more than 2,000 senior adults in Hamilton County this year. Established locally in 1985, the agency specializes in connecting seniors with programs and services that enable them to live healthy, safe lives in their own homes.
Executive Director Lauren Guynn explains why the agency’s focus on seniors is a critical need in the area: “Hamilton County is a community that boasts a great quality of life for youth and families. We need to do the same for seniors. They’re going to be the largest portion of our population within the next 5-7 years, and we can’t ignore them. We have to provide the same level of care and concern that we do for youth and families.”
Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County delivers on their mission through a variety of programs and services that address seniors’ varied needs. One such program is Together Today, which provides daily social activities that foster an ongoing sense of community and prevent feelings of isolation. Each weekday, participants aged 55+ gather at a scheduled location to participate in fun, social and educational activities.
Another vital program offered by Shepherd’s Center is Community Caring, through which volunteers are matched with seniors 55+ who are home-bound, feeling isolated or experiencing financial limitations. Volunteers conduct regular visits with seniors to assess their needs, sometimes staying connected by phone through the organization’s “Phone Pals” initiative.
Under the umbrella of Community Caring, volunteers are providing a wide array of services, including delivery of household/personal care supplies, transportation to and from appointments and coordination of home repair projects. Thanks to regular visitation and volunteer services like these, seniors can live independently and safely in their own homes.
Additional programs offered by Shepherd’s Center include Reaching Resources, which facilitates connections to services and benefits for qualifying seniors, and Guardianship, a newly launched program through which the least restrictive legal recourse is sought to help a senior in need. When necessary, Shepherd’s Center can seek authority from the courts to intervene when a senior needs protection from unsafe conditions, ensuring that they can age with dignity and enjoy their final years of life.
An ongoing hurdle for many nonprofits in Hamilton County is the presumption of financial security among all residents. The reality faced by Shepherd’s Center is that 8.5% of Hamilton County senior adults are in the lowest income bracket, living on $16,000 or less each year. “There are aging people in our community in need,” said Executive Director Lauren Guynn. “So, while Hamilton County boasts the highest wealth in the state, we’re forgetting about the other half of our population. And that number is growing.”
In response to the Coronavirus, Shepherd’s Center has modified many of its programs to support the increased needs of senior adults during the crisis. The agency’s Together Today program is now being offered through video conferencing, which has proven to be a popular solution for daily social interaction. And through partnership with other service providers during COVID, the incidence of food insecurity among seniors has been greatly reduced by facilitating regular deliveries of food and household items.
During the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, we are thankful for the work of Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County to ensure that older adults can age with dignity and maintain independence as long as safely possible.
Here’s how you can help:
- Become a volunteer. Shepherd’s Center relies on hundreds of volunteers, whose skills and interests are matched with needs in our community. Volunteers can serve one time, weekly, monthly, quarterly or whatever time they can offer.
- Donate household and personal care items for care packages. Individuals and groups can collect needed items and deliver them to seniors in need. Click here for a list of needed items.
- Make a donation to support the ongoing work of Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County. Your gift will enable more senior adults to live safe and independent lifestyles.
