Heartland Senior Services | Outreach | Ames Story County Iowa

Heartland's Outreach Department is an excellent resource for people in the community who have questions or concerns regarding older adult issues. Through home visits and telephone contacts, Heartland's Outreach Department provides a vital link between older adults and necessary community resources, enabling seniors to remain in their homes for as long as possible. Heartland's Outreach Specialists are always willing to listen and lend a helping hand.

Each month the Outreach Department makes contact and offers assistance to approximately 125 Story County seniors. Last year a total of 1,571 units of service were made to 686 seniors throughout 15 Story County communities.

Unique Service
A unique service of the department is the personalized, one-on-one contact the seniors receive from Outreach Staff. The staff consists of an Outreach Director/Specialist, two additional Outreach Specialists, and many volunteers.

The Outreach Program serves older adults of Story County age 60 and over, through home visits, by telephone, or in the Heartland Senior Services office.

Types of Services for Seniors:

Referrals to HSS programs, i. e., home delivered meals, adult day care, transportation, money management assistance, friendly visitor
Links to agencies and services, i. e., homemaker, home nursing, legal aid, housing assistance
General application assistance, i. e., insurance, rental options, food stamps, prescription programs, elderly waivers
Rent reimbursement
Farmers' Market vouchers
Energy assistance
Gatekeeper presentations to community groups

OTHER OUTREACH PROGRAMS

The AARP-sponsored Money Management Program screens and trains volunters who help seniors with balancing the checkbook, organizing bills, explaining mail, writing checks, and helping budget the monthly finances.

The Friendly Visitor Program reduces the isolation of senior citizens in the community through regular friendly visits.

Heartland is always looking for more Money Management Volunteers and Friendly Visitors.
Please consider joining our Outreach Team.

Thanks to many volunteer leaf raking groups and the project coordinators, about 50 senior yards are raked per season.

Some of the participating volunteer groups from the community who made this possible include:
Ames High Key Club, The Light from Cornerstone Church, Evangelical Free Church (Gilbert and Ames), Beta Sigma Psi, Freedom Ridge, Trinity Christian Refrom Church of Ames, Saint Thomas Aquinas Service Team, Boys with Rakes (from ISU's Birch/Welch/Roberts Halls), and several other students from Agriculture classes and the Electrical Engineering Honor Society.

Also, thanks to volunteers from RSVP and the Cornerstone Church, 20 homes of seniors and the disabled were weatherized in 2006 (and following years) through an Iowa Utilities Board weatherization grant.

The original project was a partnership between RSVP (Retired Senior and Volunteer Program) and Heartland Senior Services. Matching funds were provided by United Way of Story County and matching materials were given from Lowes of Ames and Aquila (utilities). Hy-Vee Lincoln Center donated many lunches for the workers and Pizza Hut of Ames provided discounts for pizza.

For More Information Contact the
Outreach Department at (515) 233-2906