Senior Services Provide Meals, Companionship

Amid a fierce budget deficit battle on Capitol Hill that could affect Social Security and Medicare, seniors in Gwinnett County are faced with managing their daily needs during a down economy.

With fixed incomes and few affordable options for elderly care, many seniors in Gwinnett turn to the county’s senior services department to receive help for everything from meals to transportation.

But, an increase in the senior population coupled with depleted revenue from government sources creates what Friends of Gwinnett County resource and marketing coordinator Gary Galloway calls “a perfect storm.”

Friends of Gwinnett County Senior Services (Friends) is a nonprofit volunteer organization that institutes a public-private partnership business model to support senior services provided by the county while reaching out to local businesses and corporate sponsors to help raise money to fund or supplement specific senior programs.

More than 140,000 seniors reside in the Gwinnett County area. The county has seen an explosion in seniors who have not only emigrated from foreign countries but have relocated from other parts of the country as well as the downtown Atlanta area. Galloway cited the quality of living and favorable taxes as reason for why families move their elderly family members to the county.

Budget cuts and property value resets over the last couple of years have hurt programs that Gwinnett County Senior Services offers Galloway said. The "Friends" nonprofit has had to play a crucial role in supplementing funding so the senior meals programs and other services remain active.

“As recently as two to three years ago 62 percent of the operating budget was money from Gwinnett County. Now in 2011, it’s 50 percent,” Galloway said.

Those cutbacks create waiting lists due to such a high demand for the services. This has forced "Friends" to find alternative sources for funding to maintain the level of services offered to its seniors.

“We were absolutely not interested in compromising the quality and quantity of senior services.”

Last month, the organization held its third annual charity crawfish and shrimp boil to raise money for the senior meals program. Seafood donations from King & Prince Seafood Co. of Brunswick, GA as well as drink and event space contributions from The Hail Mary Pub in Grayson, Ga., kept the overhead low and generated more than $2,000 to go toward efforts to fund meals for seniors.

Various fundraisers throughout the year including a charity golf outing sponsored by TPC Sugarloaf, a silent auction held at Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett and the Outback steakhouse sponsored Outback at Work Charity Lunch which sells lunches to local businesses, creates a unique community partnership that provides local businesses the opportunity to give back to its seniors.

More than just a meal

Many of Gwinnett’s seniors benefit most from the county’s free meals program offered at each senior center or the Meals on Wheels program which delivers fresh-made meals to Gwinnett’s homebound senior residents.

Most families are challenged with adjusting their lives to care for an aging parent. Living quarters, transportation to and from appointments and meals are just some of the issues adult children face when they manage the care of a senior. What’s worse is that three out of every ten seniors have no family or guardians to speak on their behalf and are often left to live alone.

“A lot of these families are in a quasi-crisis,” Galloway said.

Getting a hot breakfast and lunch each day not only alleviates the need for seniors to be concerned about daily meal preparation, but if affords them the opportunity to socialize with others and form friendships.

Adult children who are now dealing with the reality of caring for an aging parent also find comfort in knowing that their relatives are being fed nutritious meals in a safe and supportive setting.

“It makes my day,” said Katie Jefferson. A bus picks her up from her home in Snellville and takes her to the Lawrenceville Senior Center to get a good meal and time to engage in activities with others.

“I get lonesome,” she said. “I look forward to coming here. It gives me somewhere to go.”

For those who are homebound or disabled, the Meals on Wheels program offers some form of companionship between the volunteer meal deliverer and the senior, as well as relief in knowing that someone cares.

This is why the senior meals program plays a crucial role in supporting Gwinnett’s senior residents. In the last ten years in Georgia, the number of people over the age of 60 has tripled in size outgrowing children under the age of 15.

This population increase has increased demand for senior services and placed a high premium on programs like senior meals. Additionally, recent increases in food prices and program costs makes it tough for the senior services department to serve everyone.

It is a challenge that "Friends" has tasked itself to improve since its beginnings in 1999. Over the last few years, Friends has dispersed more than $125,000 to supplement senior services including $31,000 in 2010. These funds along with some federal grants make it possible for Gwinnett County Senior Services to purchase trucks for food delivery and remove some seniors from the waiting lists for hot meals.

Though the baby boomer generation is nearing its golden years quite soon, Galloway doesn’t see a grim picture. He said that Friends will continue to act in a supporting capacity and supplement any gaps in funding senior programs.

If anything, he is motivated by the potential of the organization’s mission in the future.

“The needs of seniors come first," he said. "They made incredible sacrifices for us.”