Meals will be delivered to homebound older adults in Bend, La Pine and Sisters after multiple days of service interruption due to snow. Volunteers and community members have helped ensure the safety and wellbeing of at-risk seniors.
Bend, Ore., February 28, 2019 – Delivery of Meals on Wheels will resume on Thursday in Bend, La Pine and Sisters after multiple days of service interruption due to Central Oregon’s heavy snowstorm. Council on Aging staff have been checking on the well-being and safety of more than a hundred homebound seniors who rely on meal delivery and social connectedness through the Meals on Wheels program and no issues have been reported. Seniors have been receiving food from friends and family, as well as utilizing emergency food supplies provided ahead of the winter season.
Thanks to a joint effort by Council on Aging staff, volunteers and community members, multiple meals including fresh fruit and vegetables will be delivered to each Meals on Wheels recipient Thursday. The Council on Aging has received multiple inquiries by members of the public asking how they can help homebound older adults during the snowstorm. In one case, the Council on Aging was able to use its Facebook page to coordinate help for a woman in Redmond who was stuck inside her home and had run out of food, medication and pet supplies. A local four-wheeler group was able to step in and send a member to assist the woman in getting to the store.
“The community response and willingness to help homebound older adults has been inspirational,” said Susan Rotella, executive director of the Council on Aging of Central Oregon. “We know Central Oregonians love their neighbors, and are ready to come together to support them in times of need. It is truly heartwarming.”
Council on Aging staff spent Wednesday at the Bend Senior Center preparing fresh salads for Meals on Wheels recipients and coordinating volunteers to deliver the meals on Thursday. A number of community members with off-road vehicles will be assisting in Bend on Thursday, driving Meals on Wheels volunteers and digging out pathways so home deliveries can be made. Volunteers are anxious to visit with clients, conduct well-being checks and provide social stimulation.
The Council on Aging offices will reopen on Thursday, Feb. 28, and staff are preparing to field calls from older adults in need of services. The senior lunch at the Bend Senior Center has been cancelled on Thursday.
For updates, follow the Council on Aging’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CouncilOnAgingOfCentralOregon or check local media.
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About the Council on Aging of Central Oregon
Since 1975, the Council on Aging has served as the designated Area Agency on Aging for Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties, offering adults aged 60 and older and their loved ones a range of support services. A non-profit organization, the Council on Aging advocates for, empowers and guides older adults and their loved ones to live with independence and well-being in age-friendly communities—places where infrastructure, policies and practices are developed to make the community livable, accessible and responsive to the needs of people of all ages, especially older adults.
Phone: (541) 678-5483
Website: www.councilonaging.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CouncilOnAgingOfCentralOregon
Media Contact
Emily Burnham
Strategic communications and public relations manager
Council on Aging of Central Oregon
(541) 678-5483
eburnham@councilonaging.org
