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In Manchester, N.H., a community partnership called Seniors Count! convinced a well-known local businessman to use his networking skills to spread the word about the unmet needs of at-risk elders, resulting in a series of lunches that netted almost $80,000. Each partnership realized they needed to develop new strategies—and collaborations—to better meet the needs of older adults.
Seniors Count!
In Manchester, Seniors Count! works in conjunction with Easter Seals to “shine a light” on the needs of at-risk elders living at home, says Seniors Count! Project Manager Arlene Kershaw.
Among the city’s 106,000 residents are a rising number of older adults, many of whom are considered at-risk. For these seniors, staying at home depends on being able to accomplish small, concrete tasks, such as buying food, installing a storm window or finding a plumber to fix a toilet. Too often, however, those needs go unmet, because elders remain a largely invisible population. “It’s tough because we don’t know where they are, often until they fall and end up in the hospital,” Kershaw says.
Seniors Count! focuses on two objectives: making social workers readily available to assist older adults; and securing flexible funds for seniors who have no other resources when the need arises for, say, a plumber or a tank of heating oil. (Unrestricted private funding is crucial, Kershaw notes, since some federal monies have restrictions on what they can be used to pay for.)
In search of direct, flexible funds, Seniors Count! turned to local businesspeople. Several were already serving on the group’s task force, but even they sometimes didn’t fully grasp the extent of the problem. “They’d ask, ‘Aren’t those people already taken care of?’” Kershaw recalls. “They didn’t realize the struggles that go on, day after day, behind closed doors.”
The idea to hold a series of informational lunches stemmed from recognition that “businesspeople live in a different world” from social workers, says Kershaw, who felt it was crucial to “go to where people are comfortable,” to “have a compelling need or project” and to speak in concrete terms. “We’d say, ‘Mrs. Smith needs a mattress. It costs $300.’ Business people are able to respond to such a request.”
Lastly, she understood that “the real hook is who does the asking.” At first it was Ron Allard, a task-force member and a retired executive of Granite State Manufacturing Co. who had long been active on area boards dealing with children's issues. Says Kershaw, “People went [to the lunches] because Ron asked them."
And the results were impressive. Luncheon attendees, meeting at the local country club, agreed to raise flexible funds to support the needs of 100 at-risk seniors. Over a nine-month period, the team raised more than $80,000, with donations ranging from $100 to $15,000 over three years.
Another of Seniors Count’s strategies is to involve diverse businesses, including those that can provide products and services for elders. This is done through the establishment of a Red Team—businesses called upon to fill a large-item need. For example, an appliance store owner, as a member of this Red Team, may be able to offer a refrigerator when one is needed.
Moreover, Seniors Count! has worked to keep communication flowing between the business and social-service worlds. The group has a staff person as the liaison to the business community, and a CD was created to send to luncheon attendees who pledged donations, thanking them for their contribution and reminding them of the work that remains.
In contrast to the restrictions and pre-qualifiers often imposed by federal, state or other program guidelines, Seniors Count! has raised “immediate, effective funds,” Kershaw says. “You need a stove? You cannot afford a stove? All other resources exhausted? OK, Seniors Count will provide the stove.”
Best of all, in the process they have identified other at-risk seniors. “Once we wrap our arms around you,” she says, “you’re on our radar.”
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