Clinton County residents now have a local resource to turn to when they have questions about caring for an older adult or person with disabilities. Council on Aging (COA) recently opened a local office of its Aging and Disabiltiy Resource Center (resource center) in Wilmington at 2333 Rombach Avenue, inside the Smith-Feike-Minton Insurance building.
COA’s Clinton County Resource Center is open Monday-Friday, 8 – 11:30am and 12:30 – 4:30pm. The office closes from 11:30am – 12:30pm daily for lunch. During these hours, a staff member is available to assist those who wish to talk about programs, services and resources available to residents of Clinton County, including older adults, people with disabilities, caregivers and professionals. Clinton County residents can also call (937) 449-0642 to reach the local resource center or use the contact form at www.help4seniors.org.
The resource center is free and available to anyone with questions about aging, disability resources or caregiving. Wondering about housing, Medicare or transportation? The resource center can help. The resource center is predominately supported with federal and state sources of funding brought into the county via Council on Aging.
“Clinton County is a community with unique needs,” said Ken Wilson, Vice President of Program Operations at COA. “Based on the size of the older adult population and the geographic makeup of the county, we felt we could best serve residents by having a resource center close to home.”
COA has had an office in Clinton County since June 2014. However, that office was open only part-time and was primarily used by case managers in the county’s Elderly Services Program (ESP). Last summer, COA moved its Clinton County office to 2333 Rombach Avenue and opened a resource center part-time. This March, COA expanded the resource center’s hours to full-time.
“Over the last five years, our Clinton County staff have gotten to know the community and the needs of the older adults who live here,” said Wilson. “We needed a space where our staff could maintain that close connection with the community and where people felt comfortable stopping in or calling to talk with someone about their needs. This new space does that.”
Council on Aging’s role in Clinton County
COA is the state-designated Area Agency on Aging for southwestern Ohio, including Clinton County. As such, COA is responsible for planning, coordinating and administrating local, state and federally-funded programs and services for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers.
COA also administers the Clinton County Elderly Services Program via a contract with Clinton County Commissioners. ESP receives about 82 percent of its funding from a local senior services tax levy. The rest of the funding comes from state and federal funds allocated by Council on Aging, client donations and client co-payments.
ESP provides home-delivered meals, housekeeping help, medical transportation, personal care and other basic services to help older adults remain independent in their homes. In 2018, the program served 550 seniors throughout Clinton County. Information about ESP is available through the Clinton County Resource Center.
Council on Aging also distributes federal Older Americans Act funding in Clinton County. In 2018, Clinton County organizations received and spent nearly $369,000 in such funds for services such as senior center services, transportation, meals, caregiver support and legal services.