St. Pat’s clients wait in the wellness clinic provided by St. Patrick Senior Center.Detroit — Sometimes it takes someone in a similar situation to fully understand what you need.
Linda Farley no longer drives herself, but with the help of the senior advocacy program at the St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit’s Midtown, she can now access her medical appointments.
“This is a blessing to have — I’m grateful,” said Farley, who has been using the program’s “advocate assisted transportation” for two years.
The senior advocacy program, existing to help seniors avoid institutionalization, is just one of the many resources at St. Patrick Senior Center, or “St. Pat’s” as it is affectionately called.
The senior advocacy program’s main concept is unique: seniors helping seniors.
Ron Walker, a driver with the advocate assisted transportation program, is one of the seniors who helps fellow members of the center reach their appointments.
Senior advocate driver Ron Walker helps Linda Farley into a St. Pat’s transportation vehicle. Farley, who no longer drives, calls this resource “a blessing.” For Walker, a senior himself, this is a way of “giving back” to the community.Walker explained that the community has given him much, and his participation as a senior advocate driver is “a way of giving back.”
But the program offers much more than transportation, including senior companion care for those who do not require nursing home attendance but who can no longer fully function on their own, as well as “MMAP counseling.”
Annie Selley, a counselor who works in the senior advocacy office with the Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP), explains, “We might be able to help them obtain more money for their pocket, so they can buy more food or get their hair done.”
Fellow MMAP counselor Christine Lawson said the program is “rewarding because it is helping seniors who may be already dealing with a level of poverty.”
Lawson said many seniors using Medicare and Medicaid are entitled to an additional $104.90 each month if their income is under $1,313, but don’t know how to obtain it. Additionally, if their income is below $1,457, they may be able to receive prescription drug coverage.
If a client has other needs, such as problems with their home, cooking for themselves or housecleaning, MMAP counselors can offer referrals.
“On the MMAP form we can request food stamp assistance,” she added, for those who qualify.
MMAP counselors often hold outreach presentations in the area to build awareness for seniors who may be interested, Selley said. Fun activities at St. Pat’s, such as “Bingo Medicare” in which seniors can win blankets, scarves or other prizes, are also held.
Lawson and Selley are seniors themselves and take advantage of the many other resources at St. Pat’s, such as dance classes and chair massages.
Jenele Collier, an MMAP counselor, medical assistant at St. Pat’s wellness clinic and advocacy assistant who “wears many other hats,” said she might have as many as 20 clinic clients on a busy day.
The wellness clinic, besides offering blood pressure screenings, blood sugar tests and flu vaccinations, also provides programs on healthy eating and remaining active in one’s older years.
Collier said many other opportunities to help have arisen. She recalled one client who was going to be evicted after her apartment complex was bought by another company.
The client didn’t have family to turn to, so Collier helped her find new housing, which was actually cheaper than her original apartment.
“Seeing the smile on her face after everything was said and done was very rewarding,” Collier said.
Senior advocacy manager Deitra Washington isn’t a senior, but enjoys working with the older demographic.
“I love it,” she said. “A lot of the seniors say that if it was not for St. Pat’s, they would just be home.”
“I learn a lot from the seniors,” Washington said. “We help each other.”
Pamela White had worked as a customer service operator for many years before serving at St. Pat’s as a navigator assistant with senior advocacy.
She said her tasks that involve answering the phones, booking transportation for seniors and setting up appointments for outreach programs are “a blessing when you can help the seniors.”
Citing the center’s Catholic origins, having been founded by Dominican Sr. Mary Watson, White said there’s freedom to “spread the word about God.”
“It makes your heart not sad, but so happy that you can cry about it,” she explained. “When you get older, people tend to push you aside. This is a shelter.”
St. Patrick Senior Center
St. Patrick Senior Center is at 58 Parsons Street, Detroit, 48201. Membership is open to all 55 and older.
• Visit www.StPatSrCtr.org or call the main line at (313) 833-7080. Like their “St. Patrick Senior Center — Detroit” Facebook page to keep up-to-date with events and programs.
• For information about senior companion care, Michigan’s Coordinated Access to Food for the Elderly (MiCAFE), advocate-assisted transportation, or to see if you are eligible to receive money from Medicare Part B, call the senior advocacy program office at (313) 831-2520.
• To donate or find ways to support St. Pat’s, call the main line and ask for fund development director Norvena Wilson.
