FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 8, 2022
CONTACT: Dr. Jaclynn Faffer
Naples Senior Center
(239) 325.4444
[email protected]
Women’s Foundation Grant Empowering Naples Senior Center
NAPLES, FL. – Naples Senior Center, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive programs and social services for local seniors, has earned an $80,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Collier County through the Collier Community Foundation. These funds will enable the center to partner with other agencies and build a bridge between struggling seniors and the social service system in place to help them.
The Naples Senior Center is the only human services agency of its kind, providing comprehensive, “one-stop shop” services addressing the emotional and social needs of adults ages 60 and older in Collier County. Since 2020, the organization has seen a sharp increase in seniors needing assistance, many of whom are senior women living alone.
According to the Hunger & Homeless Coalition (HCC) of Collier County, there were 65 homeless seniors during the first quarter of this year and the number of homeless adults over the age of 60 is continuing to rise due to surging rental rates, increased food prices, and the special physical and mental health challenges that many older people face daily.
“This grant from the Women’s Foundation will enable us to partner with the Collier Resource Center to provide and coordinate services, including case management services to senior women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness,” said Dr. Jaclynn Faffer, President/CEO of Naples Senior Center. “It is our hope that providing effective homelessness prevention opportunities may be enough to prevent and end homelessness.”
Case management is a complex intervention used in geriatric care. It has no single definition but it has been suggested that basic case management may include identification and outreach, comprehensive individual-based assessment, care planning, care assessment and, if appropriate, an HHC referral for rapid rehousing. The case manager will meet with potential clients either at the senior center or in the community.
The case manager will remain as the client’s advocate, providing such support as applying for financial benefits, housing applications, and connecting the senior to proper medical care and assessments. Once a senior is stably housed, the case manager will work to connect them with senior center programs to help combat isolation and loneliness and, if they are suffering from dementia, place them in the dementia respite program.
Established in 1996, the Women’s Foundation of Collier County (WFCC) is a field-of-interest fund administered by the Collier Community Foundation whose mission is to be a catalyst for change in the lives of women and girls in Collier County through grantmaking, advocacy and education. WFCC has granted almost $900,000 to local women and girl’s programs and organizations. For more information, visit wfcollier.org.
The Naples Senior Center enriches the lives of those 60 years of age and older by providing comprehensive programs and social services that support and strengthen individuals and their families, often at times of vulnerability and crisis.
All programs and services are provided by licensed and credentialed professionals. These include Structured Dementia Respite Support; Geriatric Case Management and Senior Outreach Programs; and Emotional Support Services as well as the “choice” Food Pantry.
An average of 40 different social, educational and wellness programs also are offered each week thanks to a dedicated corps of more than 200 trained and vetted volunteers. Among these social programs are classes in art, music and film; brain fitness and educational seminars; courses in technology and computer science; physical well-being; and interest groups. The center serves everyone regardless of backgrounds and beliefs.
To accommodate future growth, Naples Senior Center has initiated construction on a new permanent home on Autumn Oaks Lane, just a block south of Immokalee Road. This site will enable seniors to benefit from a nurturing, natural setting that offers outdoor space for walking, quiet contemplation and low-impact exercise programs such as tai chi. The new facility will be funded through a capital campaign that was launched in 2019 and has been accelerated by a $5-million commitment from philanthropists Patty and Jay Baker.
For additional information on the Naples Senior Center and its comprehensive programs and social services for area seniors and their families, visit www.NaplesSeniorCenter.org.
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