LEFT: Mayor Wild with party goers at our Senior Center Holiday Celebration. BELOW: Residents enjoying one of the many events hosted at the Senior Friendship Center.
varied backgrounds and stages in life. For instance, Marcum noted that they feed about 350 homebound seniors every day; those seniors are not forgotten and the“ Meals on Wheels” program is essential to keeping the homebound seniors healthy.
Congregate meals are served daily 11:30a. m. The congregate meal provides a nutritious meal while offering the opportunity to socialize with peers. Residents can reserve a meal by calling 734-722-7362 by noon of the prior business day. If seniors do not make a reservation, and they wish to have a lunch, they can go on standby and depending on availability, they can still usually oblige.
Also, for the nursing home bound seniors who are very frail, and have no family in the area, Westland has the Home Chore Program. This is a free program that provides outdoor supplemental services to assist seniors to stay in their own homes, keeping them out of the nursing homes for a longer period. This program is for seniors older than 70, unable to physically do the work and unable to financially afford to have it done. Service includes snow removal from drive and walkways( must have snowed more than four inches), lawn mowing and leaf raking.
In addition to in-house services, the Friendship Center also organizes travel events using both travel agencies and the in-house bus“ The Friendship Express.”
“ We offer trips that are planned by staff for members who are on a small fixed income and use professional tour companies for those whose income allows more travel expenses,” said Marcum. Speakers also give presentations and tour trips at monthly programs. The travel agents are just one of many groups Marcum has partnered with in order to provide services.
Marcum also partners with Madonna University and has mentored nursing students for the last six years.“ Often it’ s the first time many of these students have engaged with seniors beyond their own grandparents,” said Marcum.“ They come in and check their blood pressure and discuss other health issues, symptom control, loss and grief and other topics seniors regularly might deal with.”
Partnering with the Wayne County Community College District( WCCCD) has allowed the center to offer WCCCD classes such as genealogy, computers, tablets and cell phones and has plans to expand as the demand increases. Marcum also hopes to start a history class.“ Instead of having our members go to the college, we asked WCCCD to bring classes to us and it has given us the opportunity to offer a platform of lifelong learning to our seniors,” said Marcum.
Marcum also partners with local John Glenn High School by engaging students to volunteer their time at the center.“ They help in all kinds of areas,” said Marcum.“ During the holidays, they help decorate the center.”
Marcum is always trying to develop new programs and testing out ideas.“ Some programs have a shelf life and they eventually end but others last for years, and that’ s OK,” said Marcum.“ We are always looking for new ideas, but experience has taught me that partnerships are definitely where it’ s at. The opportunities are endless.”
She recently implemented a spiritual program called ALPHA. It is a worldrenowned series of interactive sessions that freely explore the basics of faith.“ It’ s not focused on religion as much as it focused on exploration,” said Marcum. As people age, their interest in transcendence, what they leave behind, what is going to happen to their“ soul” and what that means to them, is something people want to explore. What is most important is that people are given an opportunity to explore their own interests regardless of what those might be.
Marcum and her staff are always looking for fresh ideas and new approaches to engage the 50 + residents.“ We are truly here to be a resource for our residents,” said Marcum.“ We are about improving a person’ s quality of life through the services and programs we offer. While we can’ t be everything to everyone, that won’ t keep us from trying to be.”
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