Senior Citizens Of Teton County Inc

ENRICHING SENIORS' LIVES THROUGH ADVOCACY, DIVERSE PROGRAMMING, AND WELLNESS AND NUTRITION OPPORTUNITIES.

NUTRITION: SENIORS WEST OF THE TETONS OFFERS LUNCHES WEEKDAYS IN THE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER AND DELIVERS FIVE MEALS A WEEK TO HOMEBOUND SENIORS. OUR HOME MEALS INCLUDE A WEEKLY BAG OF FOOD BASICS PROVIDED BY THE TETON VALLEY FOOD PANTRY. WE ALSO SERVE AS A DISTRIBUTION SITE FOR THE COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER'S FOOD RESCUE PROGRAM AND DISTRIBUTE FOOD BOXES FOR SENIORS THROUGH THE IDAHO FOOD BANK. IN 2021, SWOT SERVED 5,733 MEALS, INCLUDING 3,887 HOME-DELIVERED MEALS. WHILE FOLLOWING CDC GUIDELINES FOR CONTACT WITH VULNERABLE SENIORS, HOME-DELIVERY VOLUNTEERS WERE STILL ABLE TO CHECK ON THE WELL-BEING OF ISOLATED SENIORS AND PROVIDE A WELCOME SOCIAL CONTACT. THE HOME-DELIVERY PROGRAM WAS SUPPORTED BY COMMUNITY DONATIONS AND INCREASING SUPPORT FROM THE EASTERN IDAHO COMMUNITY ACTION PROJECT. BECAUSE OF CLOSURES RELATED TO THE COVID PANDEMIC, WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO OPERATE OUR IN-HOUSE LUNCH PROGRAM FOR FOUR MONTHS IN 2021 AND THEN WITH MAJOR RESTRICTIONS. HOWEVER, EVEN THE LIMITED OPENING AFFIRMED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROGRAM FOR SOCIAL, AS WELL AS PHYSICAL, WELL-BEING. AT ITS 2021 PLANNING RETREAT, THE BOARD ENDORSED ALLOTTING SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES TO DEVELOPING A THRIVING AND VITAL IN-HOUSE LUNCH PROGRAM WHEN CONDITIONS ALLOW.

WELLNESS: FITNESS PROGRAMMING, INCLUDING TAI CHI, YOGA, FIT AND FALL PROOF, AND QI GONG, IS OFFERED FIVE DAYS A WEEK. IN ADDITION, WE HOST CLINICS FOR FOOT CARE, BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING, VACCINATIONS, AND HEALTH SCREENINGS. OUR HEALTHY SENIORS PROGRAM BRINGS IN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS TO DISCUSS ISSUES LIKE MENTAL HEALTH, DIABETES PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT, AND HEART HEALTH. ALL WELLNESS PROGRAMS ARE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE, THOUGH SOME VOLUNTEER INSTRUCTORS ACCEPT SMALL DONATIONS. FIT AND FALL PROOF IS SPONSORED BY THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, WHICH OFFERS TRAINING AND MATERIAL SUPPORT TO VOLUNTEER INSTRUCTORS RECRUITED BY SENIORS WEST OF THE TETONS. UNDER NORMAL OPERATIONS, MORE THAN 100 SENIORS PARTICIPATE IN FITNESS AND WELLNESS ACTIVITIES EACH WEEK. HOWEVER, FROM JANUARY THROUGH JUNE 2021, WHEN THE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER WAS CLOSED, MOST OF THE FITNESS PROGRAMMING WENT ONLINE. WHILE THERE HAD BEEN SOME SUCCESS WITH THIS IN 2020, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE INTEREST DURING THIS SECOND CLOSURE. AS THE PANDEMIC ABATED, SOME CLASSES WERE ABLE TO RETURN WITH MASKING AND SOCIAL DISTANCING. WITH OUR FULL RE-OPENING IN JUNE, THERE WAS A SURGE IN ENGAGEMENT IN THE FITNESS PROGRAMS. AS WE FOUND WITH THE LUNCH PROGRAM, SENIORS VALUED THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AS MUCH AS THE EXERCISE. FACILITY ENHANCEMENT: PRIOR TO THE REOPENING, WE INSTALLED A NEW VENTILATION SYSTEM IN THE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER. THOUGH THIS BENEFITTED ALL OUR PROGRAMS, IT WAS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL FOR OUR FITNESS PROGRAMS.

DIVERSE PROGRAMMING: ALTHOUGH 2021 WAS HARDLY A NORMAL YEAR FOR PROGRAMMING, WITH THE PREVALENCE OF VACCINES AND BY TAKING APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS, WE WERE ABLE TO OFFER MORE PROGRAMS TO TETON VALLEY SENIORS THAN IN 2020. AS WE PREPARED FOR RE-OPENING THE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER IN JUNE 2021, WE REALIZED WE NEEDED ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL STAFF TO COORDINATE VOLUNTEERS AND MAKE OUR VISION FOR PROGRAMMING A REALITY. WHILE MUCH OF OUR PROGRAMMING IS OFFERED OR SUPPORTED BY VOLUNTEERS, THE TASK OF RECRUITING, COORDINATING AND SUSTAINING THOSE VOLUNTEERS IS MONUMENTAL. OUR PROGRAM COORDINATOR CAME ON BOARD JUST AS WE BEGAN TO REOPEN. WORKING WITH OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SHE HAS DEVELOPED A REGULAR PROGRAM OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, DISCUSSION FORUMS, EXCURSIONS, AND ENTERTAINMENT EVENTS. COMPARING THE FIT AND ACTIVE CALENDAR IN OUR APRIL 2022 NEWSLETTER WITH THE ONE FROM APRIL 2021 REVEALS THE AMAZING PROGRESS WE'VE MADE IN OFFERING DIVERSE AND EXCITING PROGRAMMING. FACILITY ENHANCEMENT: MUCH OF THIS DEVELOPMENT IS RELATED TO CHANGES WE HAVE MADE IN OUR FACILITY. WE HAVE ADDED HIGH-QUALITY A/V EQUIPMENT AND UPGRADED OUR DINING SERVICE. THESE CHANGES ALLOW US TO OFFER A WIDER VARIETY OF EVENTS AND PROGRAMS, WHICH SUPPORTS OUR CONCEPTION OF THE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER AS A GENUINE COMMUNITY CENTER RATHER THAN JUST A DINING ROOM. IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WE PLAN TO REMODEL A LOUNGE SPACE IN THE MAIN ROOM TO BECOME A MEETING AND WORK ROOM. THIS WILL ALLOW SERVICES LIKE OUR TECH TIME AND VITA TAX PREPARATION PROGRAMS TO OPERATE WHILE ACTIVITIES ARE GOING ON IN THE MAIN ROOM.

ADVOCACY, COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH: SENIORS WEST OF THE TETONS PARTNERS WITH OUR REGIONAL AREA AGENCY ON AGING TO ENSURE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE TO KEEP SENIORS IN THEIR HOMES. WE PROVIDE ASSISTANCE WITH MEDICARE AND OTHER HEALTH INSURANCE, FEDERAL AND STATE TAXES, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, AND GENERAL REFERRALS TO OTHER SERVICES. THIS ADVOCACY IS CHANNELED THROUGH OUR MONTHLY PRINT NEWSLETTER, WHICH IS MAILED TO 480 SENIORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND REGULAR ONLINE NEWS UPDATES. OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA KEEP SENIORS INFORMED ABOUT COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS, SENIOR CENTER EVENTS AND ISSUES OF CONCERN TO SENIORS, LIKE MEDICARE ENROLLMENT AND TAX FRAUD. MUCH OF THIS COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITY IS SUPPORTED BY OUR GROWING DATA SYSTEM, WHICH ALLOWS US TO MAKE FREQUENT AND TARGETED CONTACTS WITH SENIORS AND TO LINK SENIORS DIRECTLY WITH SERVICES AND PROGRAMS OF INTEREST. OUR VOLUNTEERS CONSTITUTE ANOTHER CRUCIAL COMPONENT IN OUR ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY. WHETHER IT IS A HOME-DELIVERED MEAL, FITNESS CLASS OR EVENT, IT IS LIKELY THAT A VOLUNTEER WILL BE THE POINT OF CONTACT BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATION AND THE CLIENT. THE ONSET OF THE COVID PANDEMIC BROUGHT A SURGE OF VOLUNTEERS ANXIOUS TO BE OF SERVICE. FORTUNATELY, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CHANNEL THIS DESIRE TO SERVE INTO A DESIRE TO ADVOCATE.