CNS Y-12 recently presented a check for launch of new program for Knox area senior citizens to Contact Care Line. Pictured from left are Alison Sides, secretary of the CNS Y-12 Advisory Committee; Helen Morton, vice president of the Board of Contact Care Line; Bruce Marshall, executive director of Contact Care Line; and Mike Fierley, chair of the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund Advisory Committee. (Submitted photo)
Reassurance Contact, an Oak Ridge-based service of local nonprofit Contact Care Line, is seeking caring individuals to volunteer a few hours each week to make calls to elderly Anderson and Knox County residents who live alone, a press release said.
“Volunteers donate a few hours one day a week to make social and safety calls to senior citizens who can use a cheerful moment in their day, a quick check that they are safe, and perhaps a reminder to take their medicine,” the press release said.
It said nearly 20 percent of the area’s population is 65 or older and 43 percent of those in this age group have a disability.
“Surveys reveal that seniors prefer to remain in their own homes as they age,” the press release said. “But safety concerns, coupled with social isolation, threaten the capacity of seniors to live on their own. Reassurance Contact addresses these issues, allowing senior residents to remain in the own residences as long as possible.”
The launch of this new program is helped by a $9,000 grant from the CNS Y-12 Community Investment Fund at East Tennessee Foundation, the press release said.
“We deeply appreciate the investment of CNS Y-12 in our community,” said Bruce Marshall, executive director at Contact Care Line. “They’ve supported Contact’s work as part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline through the years, and we’re excited to have them supporting this new effort to take care of our senior citizens.”
Prospective volunteers are required to attend four hours of training. The next training class is set for May 23 and 25, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 212 North Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge.
To volunteer or for more information about setting up a training at your location, contact Bruce Marshall at (865) 312-7450 or send an email to bruce@contactlistens.org.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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