OCEAN COUNTY – A $1.5 million federal CARES grant was donated to help aid senior citizens during the continuing COVID-19 crisis.
The fund gives more than 100,000 additional home-delivered meals to senior citizens as well as other services ranging from caregiver support to transportation.
“The ongoing pandemic has been devastating to our senior communities,” said Freeholder Director Joseph Vicari, liaison to the Office of Senior Services. “Besides the physical threat of contracting the illness, many of our seniors have been dealing with stress and other psychological issues, including loneliness.”
About 150,000 home delivered meals or emergency shelf stable meals were given to seniors from April 1 to Aug. 31, that being an increase of almost 40,000 from the same period in 2019.
“We saw a 30 percent increase in meals delivered and a 50 percent increase in new clients from 2019,” Vicari said. “This grant will allow us to deliver an additional 100,000 meals.”
An additional $366,000 is designated for a variety of community support services, including $75,000 for the Food Shopping Program. The newly created program with Jersey CARES shops for food and delivers it to a senior’s home.
Some of the aid money will also go towards upgrading laptop computers and protective Plexiglas and barriers at local senior centers.
Money was also awarded to the Community Health Law Project and the Catholic Charities Fix-it Program. These programs help seniors facing pandemic-related evictions and provide home modification services for them.
“We have seen a significant increase in requests for assistance from caregivers over the course of this pandemic,” Vicari said. “Adult children who may not have seen their parents as frequently before COVID, were forced to help them more during the pandemic because home health aides, adult day cares and other services could no longer assist clients.”
Maria La Face, director of the Office of Senior Services agreed, stating how her department was flooded with calls from stressed out family members who needed a break from their caregiving responsibilities.
“This got worse once things started opening up and the caregivers had to go back to work but the traditional support providers like home health aides or adult day cares remained closed,” La Face said.
The money from the grant will be used to help the increased demand for assistance from caregivers. It will also modify facilities, upgrade technology, purchase barriers, PPE and cleaning supplies.
