County, City offer special services for senior citizens during coronavirus threat
Stephens County and the City of Breckenridge are offering special services for senior citizens and those with special needs, such as underlying health issues or other situations, which prevent them from going to the store and other necessary places as the community works to prevent the local spread of the new coronavirus disease.
At noon today, the county will launch a community resource line at noon today. The phone number is 254-559-2295. The line is sponsored by the Ministerial Alliance and will be answered by volunteers at First Baptist Church.
The resource is mainly for local senior citizens who need help getting groceries and other items, but the service is also available to others, such as those with other health issues, single mothers who need help, and those just seeking information about the coronavirus situation.
The volunteers will work out a system to deliver groceries to those who aren’t able to get out and shop or who don’t want to get out because they are in a high-risk category for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
The service is mostly for the delivery of groceries and household items, and the volunteers will talk to the callers to arrange for payment of the items, Roach said. However, those who are struggling to make ends meet can also call the resource number and talk to one of the volunteers who will help them with an application for assistance.
“For those who are without, or maybe who lost their job and they don’t have any food during this time, they can certainly call and there’s a resource available,” he said.
The local food banks and pantries can still distribute food to those in need. However, with the current of no more than 10 people gathered at one place, the process may take a little longer.
“They’ve got that figured out, and they’re doing a great job,” Roach said about the food pantries. “Café Love is still operating (at First United Methodist Church on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.). It’s going to be a pick-up only situation, and they’re going to keep social distancing in the line and get them food to go. All of these resources that people have grown to depend on and that are a blessing to those in our community, they will still be operating.”
The volunteer staff who are operating the resource line are also trained to answer other questions concerning the coronavirus situation. However, anyone with an emergency should still call 9-1-1 for assistance.
Additionally, the Breckenridge Senior Citizens Center will continue to offer meals to their regular customers on a take-out and delivery basis. The center’s dine-in and other services are temporarily closed during the coronavirus threat.
“For the folks that normally eat at the center, we’re meeting them at the door and giving them their meals, but they can’t eat in the center,” City Manager Andy McCuistion said Tuesday morning. “But, we are continuing to deliver to the home-bound.”
The Senior Citizens Center delivers meals to the home-bound on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Meals on Wheels delivers meals to the home-bound on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
For more local coronavirus news, click here to visit the Breckenridge Texan’s Coronavirus News page.
Story by Tony Pilkington and Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan
