BRIDGEPORT - Wise County Messenger

ALL AROUND WISE, Decatur, Texas, Thursday, December 11, 2008 9
TEXAS HEATH MATTERS
‘Resource rooms’ help brighten holidays for isolated seniors
Each holiday season, we’re
eminded by everyone from
astors to friends to John
adden that we should
count our blessings.” And in
act, most of us do find this
s a quick and easy spiritifting
exercise. It takes a
it more effort, though, to
rovide the same boost to
ow-income seniors who live
lone and have no one to
rovide holiday gifts or comanionship.
Sara Lozano, a community
nitiatives specialist for the
exas Department of Famly
and Protective Services
DFPS) in San Antonio, said
he holidays can strain the
ental and physical health
f isolated seniors.
That’s why she and her
ounterparts statewide are
sking the public to donate
ood, clothing and other
tems that give her clients
few blessings to count at
oliday time.
“We take donations and
rovide resources all year,
ut Christmas is our biggest
rive,” Lozano said. “We believe
everyone needs to feel
that someone loves them,
and especially in this season
of the year.”
In San Antonio, as in other
Texas cities, the DFPS-led
drives collect items including
new clothes, food, nutrition
drinks such as Ensure,
adult diapers, toiletries and
gently used walkers and
wheelchairs. The donations
come from individuals, businesses,
churches, service
clubs and many other sources.
“These items go into storage
areas that go by various
names depending on where
you are,” Lozano said. “Ours
are called Resource Rooms,
but other cities call them
Silver Star Rooms or whatever
else they choose. After
our caseworkers identify
older adults and their specific
needs, we take the items
out of the storage rooms and
deliver them to clients as
Christmas gifts.”
Seniors more
often alone
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and Protective Services also
makes donated resources
available to children in its
Child Protective Services
program. Older adults, however,
are much more likely
to be alone over the holidays
and excluded from holiday
celebrations.
Most cities’ holiday drives
start around Thanksgiving,
with DFPS Adult Protective
Services staff identifying clients’
specific needs so gifts
can be personalized.
Lozano said it often takes
persistence — and sometimes
even a bit of harmless
subterfuge — to find out
what those needs are.
The process starts when
caseworkers, often acting
on tips from the community,
visit older adults whose
mental or physical health
may be at risk due to poverty,
self-neglect, abuse or
other factors. Next, they try
to develop trust with the
clients — which is a key
first step in assessing their
health and level of need.
“With many older folks,
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you really have to work to
earn that trust,” said Lozano.
One thing you might
do is to look to see whether
they have a dog or other pet.
Then, on your visit, bring
some pet food along and say,
‘Hi, Mrs. So-and-so, I’ve got
some food for your puppy.’
That has the double advantage
of building trust with
the older person and perhaps
also keeping the dog
from barking at you the next
time you visit!”
Once the resources and
gifts are collected, Adult
Protective Services workers
often add a bit of holiday
magic, such as Christmas
carols and fancy wrapping,
to their home deliveries.
Lozano said that even
though the Resource Rooms
operate all year, the value
is never more obvious than
during the holiday season.
“It’s such a huge mental
health issue for people at
this time of the year just to
have some small way they
can celebrate along with the
rest of the world. We consider
it a privilege to help them
do that.”
How you
can help
Any DFPS office can accept
community donations
to older adults or children.
To find out what is needed in
your area, contact the nearest
DFPS volunteer services
coordinator. A list of coordinators
is on the Web at
www.dfps.state.tx.us/volunteer/local.asp.
The Decatur
DFPS office at 2000 W. Business
U.S. 380. The phone
number is (940) 627-2188.
802 W. Bus. Hwy 380
(Between Dairy Queen and Taco Bell)
Decatur, TX 76234
940-627-6060
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