BSRI News ........................................... 6-7

By Casey Freed Southport Case Manager

BSRI is known for its programs that offer resources to seniors throughout the community. For example, the Meals on Wheels program provides nutritious meals to area seniors who have limited ability to leave home to shop. Meal on Wheels is important for meeting nutritional needs of our homebound clients—but really, it offers so much more. There is a saying we have when referring to our meal program: ”It’s more than a meal.”

For some homebound clients, the volunteer drivers who deliver their daily meal are the only person they see in a given day. In extreme cases, the drivers may be the only person a homebound person sees within a month. For these clients, the volunteer becomes the only outlet, the only person to ensure that they are safe, and the only person they can tell about their needs.

Drivers report back to BSRI’s case management team when they become aware of a need. Drivers are the eyes and ears of BSRI’s case management team, and they are also a friend to those receiving meals. When COVID-19 hit and we had to limit the drivers’ contact with clients, case management lost a daily contact with the homebound and the clients lost a connection to the outside world. Isolation and loneliness were a very real and dangerous threat. We were left asking ourselves, who is checking on our homebound? Are they lonely? Are they in need of something? Are they okay?

But like so many challenges that COVID threw at us, the fight we gave back led to some great and lasting things; in this instance, a great new BSRI program, the Coastal Connections Call Program.

BSRI staff began calling every homebound client. But with over 300 homebound clients, it was a daunting task to call them once a week, much less check on them once a day as the Meals on Wheels drivers had done. We quickly realized we needed help. And just as with other BSRI programs, volunteers again stepped up to assist in calling to check on our most vulnerable clients.

Through weekly call checks, volunteers provided a friendly link to homebound seniors isolated by COVID. They made sure they’d had no falls or illness. They could tell the case management team about any needs brought on by the pandemic.

Some clients who had previously relied on friends and neighbors to shop for them found these folks weren’t able to risk going to the store on their behalf. Delivery services were overwhelmed. Callers learned of a client’s food insecurity issue, conveyed it to case management, and case management would have a box from BSRI’s food pantry dropped at the client’s door.

Some seniors told volunteers that they were suffering from fear and isolation brought on by the pandemic. Case management assigned specific volunteers to call and offer assurance and a friendly ear. In the end, the phone program has been so useful in fighting isolation and connecting people with resources, that when COVID finally began to loosen its grip, case management decided to keep the program. It can be used to fight the loneliness that some seniors face daily. It can also be beneficial during weather events and other emergencies (see page 8).

As with most BSRI programs, Coastal Connections relies heavily on volunteers. Dedicated volunteers like Bob Simmers, Lynette Lowrimore, and Karen Toutant have been calling BSRI clients every month since the program began in March 2020. They are creating a stronger connection with our people—but if you ask volunteer Bob Simmers, who has been talking to home-delivered meal client Helen every Friday, he is just talking to his friend.

This important program is need of volunteers. If you’d like to make a new friend by volunteering for the Coastal Connections Call Program, please contact Case Manager Casey Freed at (910) 754-4106.