Seniors in Northeast Ohio will have improved access to food, toiletries, home repairs and transportation through four new programs that are part of an initiative led by the Western Elderly Refuge Authority (WRAAA) . “One of the largest and largest in the United States,” said June Taylor, head of agency performance and strategy, on Tuesday.
This funding will be used to implement four programs.
Scheduled to launch in Spring 2023, the Great Grocery Giveaway will provide seniors with non-perishable groceries and personal hygiene products. “The Great Grocery Giveaway is another winter initiative. [that] “We want to complement all kinds of food giveaways and food bank efforts that are taking place throughout the region,” Taylor said.
The agency purchased four new ADA-accessible vans for its WRAAA Going Places program. The service will provide transportation doctor and dentist appointments for seniors and is expected to launch in the fall of 2023.
The agency’s WRAAA Works and WRAAA Nails It! programs focus on improving homes by providing ADA-accessible features, from handrails to ADA-compliant toilets and showers.
“When we were on the county council, how many times people would come to us and talk about the challenges of being able to stay at home, keeping their parents in a home where they feel very comfortable. I did,” said U.S. Congressman Shontelle Brown. “I can’t praise and commend Ms. Taylor enough for starting this effort to make it happen for so many people.”
Zaria Johnson
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ideastream public media
This initiative was born early in the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s when the agency heard similar stories from seniors without access to food, housing or transportation.
“When you deliver to people’s homes and spend time with so many people across the region, you realize that there are people struggling in their environment, whether it’s delivering masks or delivering hot meals. I knew. .”
The agency worked with Senator Sherrod Brown, Cuyahoga County Council Speaker Parnell Jones, and Cuyahoga County Council Rep. Yvonne Conwell to create an initiative to bring solutions to residents, Taylor said. All members won grants, which was the key to making the program a reality.
Senator Brown said the funds came from a congressional-led spending process reimplemented in the Senate in 2021.
“My job is to listen to you, translate it into legislative language where it makes sense, and work to get some of that out of Congress-mandated spending.” I will never apologize to anyone for returning the
Four WRAAA programs serve seniors in Cuyahoga, Gauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.
