There is a particular kind of quiet that settles over a home when someone has been alone too long. For many of the older adults we serve, it is the quiet of a phone that doesn’t ring or a kitchen with very little in it. It is the quiet of choosing between a warm house or a full plate.

Marianne knew that quiet well. Living with a heart condition and severe vision loss, she wants little more than to remain in the home she loves.  With help from an FCS Home Health Aide she is able to do just that. Marianne receives assistance with bathing, dressing, meals, and light housekeeping. Each week, Jane, a volunteer with our Senior Wellness program (formerly In-Home Recreation), visits to chat over a puzzle, play games and share laughter. With just a little help, she is able to stay in her beloved home, and she is no longer facing the quiet alone.

Across our area, low-income and disabled seniors are heading into the cold months on fixed incomes that haven’t kept pace with rising costs.  Many are also navigating a maze of paperwork that can be overwhelming.  Just getting to the doctor or grocery store can be a challenge. At Family and Children’s Service, we offer several programs to help in these situations.  We believe that the ability to remain in one’s home is about more than comfort.  It is about retaining dignity, familiarity and the right to grow old with the things and people you love.

Recently we partnered with local food pantries to help with food scarcity for many of our Home Health Aide clients. This year the home services program provided more that 23,000 hours of in-home support and made 1,200 food deliveries.  These hours provided more than just aid and meals.  They provided a knock on the door, a smile and proof that someone cares.  Through our Senior Wellness program, FCS has also recently partnered with Monmouth University and Brookdale Community College to facilitate relationships between students and seniors in four long-term care facilities. The students visit, play cards and share stories with seniors. These visits remind the residents that they are still seen, still valued, and still part of the story.

Needs like these are growing fast. What can your gift accomplish:

$50 brings companionship and activity to isolated seniors

$100 purchases groceries for a homebound older adult

$250 funds home safety upgrades through Community Support Services, helping someone stay safely in their own home

$500 provides a month of an in-home aide for personal care and housekeeping, the kind of daily help that lets a senior stay home with dignity.

Assisting vulnerable seniors is just one example of the help FCS brings to our neighbors.  Please help us continue our work by donating today.

Thank you for standing with us as we build a community where everyone is treated with dignity, compassion and respect.