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03/31/2020 12:00 AMWhile various charitable organizations and programs in town have amped up their work caring for and assisting seniors during this most difficult period, officials and community leaders have quickly come to realize that due to the specific risk the coronavirus posed to the health of older residents, more would need to be done.
Guiflord Interfaith Volunteers (GIV) Director Marta Slatterly, who helps oversee the Meals on Wheels program as well as other initiatives focusing on seniors, said her programs have continued to work as best they can, with the Friendly Visiting program converting to phone calls rather than in-person visits, and Meals on Wheels adding 27 new clients.
Slatterly said that so far, all these changes and additions have been “manageable,” and her organization has been “overwhelmed by the solidarity and generosity of the Guilford community coming together.”
But government and community leaders realized that the needs of seniors would likely grow and extend beyond the reach of these programs.
To address these issues, First Selectman Matt Hoey helped put together a coalition under the banner of Guilford Cares that also includes the Ethan Miller Song Foundation, Guilford Parks & Recreation, Social Services, and a handful of other prominent community members to begin working toward solutions, beginning with providing shopping services for those who must avoid public places like grocery stores because of their age or health conditions.
Dennis Culliton, executive director of the Witness Stones Project, Inc., and a recently retired Guilford teacher, will head up this initiative, which initially will focus its efforts on these most basic needs—shopping for food and other essential supplies—while the town assesses what other ways it can provide for the senior population.
In an email sent out March 27, Culliton said he is working within a group of about 60 volunteers put together by Meals on Wheels, without about 25 people ready to begin shopping and delivering this week.
“Initially, our goal is to deal with the issues of food insecurity for people who were, until a week ago, able to drive to the market and go grocery shopping and do the things they needed to do on their own,” Culliton said. “We’re filling the gap between Meals on Wheels that brings food to people...and the people who would go to Social Services and the Guilford Food Bank.”
The size of that population—those who drive and can afford to pay for groceries, but cannot do their shopping themselves—is not yet known, according to Culliton. But he said he expects the number of those in need of this service to be significant, with the town’s aging population and the kind of recommendations health and government officials have been making.
“The governor said if you’re above 70, don’t leave the house,” Culltion said. “That’s a big part of the population—there’s a very big, active senior population above 70 in this town.”
The service initially is only shopping at Big Y, Bishop’s Orchards, and Fresh Market, though that list is likely to expand, Culliton said.
Those who want to participate in the program will provide a shopping list through email or by phone, along with a designated drop-off location for groceries. Payments can be made by check or credit card.
As it moves forward with this program, Culliton said the group will actively be looking for any other needs that seniors have, starting with other essential errands that require visits to public areas. But he and the other officials and volunteers in the initiative are not ruling anything out, according to Culliton, and hope to find ways to fulfill any important or essential function for Guilford’s senior population.
Culliton specifically lauded Parks & Recreation staff, which has experience working with older residents and has relationships with many individuals already and will be front-lining the new program, taking calls and interacting with seniors by phone and email.
“So that’s going to give us the ability to find out very quickly what needs we’re fulfilling and what needs to be fulfilled,” Culltion said. “We believe that there’s a latent demand out there, that people need services just by definition.”
The new initiative can already begin referring people who are struggling with things like paying bills or getting health care to the proper services in town, Culliton said, as they work with these more established organizations like GIV and Social Services.
But with the current crisis likely to continue for anywhere from a few weeks to several months, Culliton said he and the other volunteers are prepared to do anything they can to “fill the gaps,” and make sure every senior in town is taken care of, whatever their needs are.
For more information or to sign up for shopping services, call 203-453-8086 or email buckleyT@ct.guilford.ct.us.