ElderSource, the area agency on aging and aging-and-disability resource center for Northeast Florida, honored St. Johns County Council on Aging as one of its 2021 Luminary Award winners during the organization’s annual “A Night with the Stars” event this month.
The event, presented by Florida Blue Medicare, celebrated organizations that worked alongside ElderSource during the pandemic to support the critical needs of seniors and caregivers.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of the 2021 Delores Barr Weaver Elder Advocate Award given to Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs Richard Prudom for his work to support seniors and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other efforts he led last year to support seniors and their caregivers in communities around the state.
Supported by funding from ElderSource, the St. Johns Council on Aging doubled the number of home meals it delivered through Meals on Wheels during the pandemic. At the height of the crisis, the agency was delivering more than 10,000 meals a month. It also set up a drive-through meal and “activity kit” pick-up location in Hastings.
The agency collaborated with seven local restaurants and caterers to meet the increased demand on its Meals on Wheels program. That partnership helped keep the restaurants and caterers in business during a tough time due to COVID-19.
In all, these seven businesses prepared more than 6,500 meals for local seniors between April 2020 and July 2020. The council provided more than 300 mental health consultation sessions between March 2020 and October 2021 adding up to approximately 400 hours of services. It also provided transportation and shuttle service to St. Johns County vaccination sites from January to June this year.
In a collaboration with the Health Department, the council opened its doors as a vaccination site in late December 2020. It pulled together virtual programming to keep seniors engaged by collaborating with several instructors.
The council successfully pivoted from serving people on-site through its congregate meal sites, caregiver support and two different dementia programs to serving participants virtually and through home-delivered meals and activity kits delivered to its senior center participants, in-home health and virtual programming.
Proceeds from “A Night with the Stars” supported ElderSource’s Senior to Senior Fund that helps older adults experiencing unexpected financial crises. To donate to the Senior to Senior fund during the holiday season, go to MyElderSource.org.
