By Geraldine Bayron-Rivera, Ph.D. | Development & Programs Planning Director
Dear Donors:
Receive our greetings on behalf of La Fondita de Jesús' family! It is with great respect that we report our achievements in providing services to prevent homelessness among older adults in Puerto Rico from March to February 2024.
During this quarter, we had the opportunity to visit 70 vulnerable communities. These communities are in the following 21 municipalities of Puerto Rico: Aibonito, Añasco, Bayamón, Caguas, Canóvanas, Carolina, Cataño, Cidra, Culebra, Guánica, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Loíza, Maricao, Naguabo, Patillas, Sabana Grande, San Juan, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, y Utuado. Nevertheless, it is essential to mention that our organization already has a presence in more than 35 municipalities in Puerto Rico (almost 45% of the total of cities on the island).
A total of 896 older adults were impacted during this period. Of those, 540 were women (60%), and 356 were men (40%). These people received over 2,334 units of service. These people are 60 years or older, and one of their main challenges is needing more income to access their basic needs, including food and social, economic, housing, and health services, even with the state's medical plan. Due to the increase in living costs in the country, more and more older adults are requesting support to cover said needs.
Likewise, part of this population's challenges is the abandonment of families and friends, so they require more significant support with hygiene, cleaning their homes, or preparing food. Also, they need people with whom they can talk about their situations. Because of this, we have identified a feeling of isolation and loneliness in older adults since they do not have a support network that allows them to stay connected.
Other various needs were identified among these individuals. Most of them lack the knowledge and skills to access digital services regarding social services related to housing subsidies, public housing, leasing, and healthcare, being at high risk of losing their homes due to social determinants that affect their health and safety. Our staff facilitates capacity-building activities where older adults learn how to use electronic devices and the Internet and access and coordinate their appointments for housing needs and health services, thus managing loneliness and isolation. We found many older adults living in impoverished communities who had not renewed their government medical plan coverage, so many had not received medical follow-ups. Other vital challenges these older adults confronted were accessing transportation to doctor appointments, the pharmacy, or the laboratory to take care of their health needs actively. This population's greatest challenge is to cover basic needs such as food, personal items, household utilities, rent payments, etc., due to their precarious socioeconomic status, which affects their quality of life.
During this period, isolation and loneliness workshops were implemented for older adults. In this, we must highlight that the population has received the topic positively, being open in group discussions and bringing personal experiences and strategies that have helped them combat the symptoms associated with isolation and loneliness. Because of this, two referrals were made to our psychologists, thus attending to participants who showed increased and deep feelings of isolation and loneliness.
On the other hand, it was possible to develop a community hydroponic system with one community and provide training workshops for harvesting and maintaining the hydroponic system through community support. This results in increased community skills to respond during emergencies, greater access to healthy foods, and community cohesion.
During this period, 21% of the impacted older adults received a medical evaluation and guidance on their health care. It was possible to deliver Over-the-Counter medication kits to each impacted older adult, along with educational literature on the proper use of medications and other topics of great interest.
Furthermore, we have provided healthcare activities and health education services specifically aimed at older adults residing in public housing and vulnerable communities in Puerto Rico. These health fairs were collaborations with other organizations due to alliances established among social workers and other clinical professionals, thus expanding the scope of our health services and benefiting more older adults residing under extreme poverty conditions. We provided hot meals, such as breakfasts and lunches, and distributed emergency grocery bags with non-perishable food and fresh products. Moreover, we have also distributed personal hygiene kits, home cleaning kits, over-the-counter medicines kits, and equipment such as compression socks, adult diapers, under pads, wipes, boxes of water bottles, wheelchairs, clothing, stove, microwave oven, glucometer, lancets, and syringes, among others. As a homelessness prevention strategy, we also provided financial assistance, such as checks to cover arrears in rent and utilities.
Workshops were provided on the following topics:
During this period, case management and community social work services were also offered through home visits, telephone calls with participants, calls with community leaders, initial interviews, follow-ups, case discussions, appointments and services coordination, document management, and internal and external referrals.
We reiterate our gratitude to you, our social investors, who believe in our mission to continue impacting the lives of those who need it most. With your support, we can achieve this and more.
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