Holy Family Home is known for being a long-term care facility however it is much more. It is a place that also cares for and reaches out to the community. One such program is the Adult Day Program. This program is a venue for seniors who live in the community to visit Holy Family for a day of socializing, to participate in recreational activities and exercises, and to review and discuss currents affairs for the purpose of stimulating their physical and mental well-being. An external transportation service picks up participants from their homes, and brings them to Holy Family. Meals and snacks are provided as well as the opportunity to attend church services.
In March of this year, the world changed impacting the daily lives of everyone. When Holy Family Home implemented restrictions especially around visitors to the Home, community outreach programs like the Adult Day Program were no longer able to continue. The dedicated staff at Holy Family Home were concerned about the program participants many of which live alone.
The staff have continued to check in with the participants by calling them to see how they are coping, but this did not feel like enough was being done. Thanks to a funding opportunity that became available through the New Horizons for Seniors Program this fall, the Holy Family Home leadership staff creatively developed an outreach program. The program specially designed to connect directly with Adult Day Program participants will provide food and nutrition along with companionship for those that are shut-in.
We are grateful and excited to announce that recently New Horizons for Seniors Program awarded Holy Family Home with a Community Based Project Grant of $25,000 to pilot a new program that will deliver a nutritional meal to those living in isolation. However, the program also includes visits with a familiar face from the Adult Day Program as a way to check in with the program participant to ensure they are doing ok. The pilot program is set to launch the week of October 19th working with a core group of 15 that were regular participants in the Adult Day Program when it was operational at Holy Family Home.
Thank you to New Horizons for Seniors for supporting Holy Family Home with this new initiative and for also providing a grant of $5,000 earlier this year to help with the purchase of iPads for residents to connect with loved ones.