This article was provided by our partners at Warren County Community Services, Inc.
Warren County is a wonderful place to age and Warren County Community Services, Inc. (WCCS) and the agency’s aging service programs play an important role in supporting the aging community with respect, dignity, understanding and kindness.
The aging programs within WCCS are committed to fully assisting the county’s older adults to the best of our ability. Departments within WCCS often collaborate to find solutions to complex problems.
For example, last summer, a WCCS care manager with the Elderly Services Program (ESP) contacted WCCS’s Supportive Services department regarding a homebound client whose air condition had quit working. The client was on oxygen and rising temperatures in the home were creating and uncomfortable – and unhealthy – living situation. Supportive Services conducted a home visit to determine if Ohio’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) could help. Through HEAP’s Summer Crisis Program, the client received a new air conditioner within a couple of hours. WCCS’s Supportive Services department is a resource for WCCS staff and community members who need support with energy assistance, food and nutrition, or social isolation. Team members are also available at the 741 Senior Center to support members’ needs.
In another example of a positive outcome through program collaboration, WCCS was able to step in and help a low-income older adult home owner obtain a new furnace. This individual had previously received assistance with fuel oil from HEAP, but fuel oil companies will no longer fill oil tanks if they are inside the home. WCCS Supportive Services was able to obtain a grant and utilize the HEAP Winter Crisis Program to replace her furnace with gas so she will have heat this winter.
Visit www.wccsi.org for more information about programs and services available to older adults and county residents of all ages.