Senior Fund City of St. Louis Supports Safe Home for Seniors
June 18, 2019
St. Andrew’s Charitable Foundation’s Safe Home for Seniors program has positively impacted the lives of many individuals, thanks to the generosity of the Senior Fund City of St. Louis. We both recognize the importance of keeping seniors safe and secure in a way that promotes not only safety, but quality of life, for as long as a senior chooses to live in their home.
Following the successful Seniors Count public advocacy campaign, the Senior Fund City of St. Louis was created by the November 2016 passage of Proposition S. This allowed the City of St. Louis to levy and collect a property tax of five cents per hundred dollars of valuation, “for the purpose of providing services to persons sixty years of age or older.”
The Senior Fund primarily supports grants to organizations that address one or more of their focus areas: fall prevention, economic security, social isolation, and homemaker chore services. Their board’s vision is for the City of St. Louis to become an aging-friendly city where seniors can age in place.
St. Andrew’s Charitable Foundation was granted a gift of $49,854 in 2018 for our Safe Home for Seniors program. We are pleased to announce that in 2019, we have been granted an additional $48,351 to continue our good work in the City of St. Louis. The Senior Fund’s faith in our program, leadership in the field of senior care and innovative funding model is greatly appreciated.
What is Safe Home for Seniors?
- Many seniors do not understand how to take their medication or choose to skip taking their medication in the hope it will last longer. Some seniors take multiple medications that conflict and cause drowsiness or dizziness, leading to falls and injury. We review all medications with the senior, educate them on how to take it, why skipping medications can be detrimental to their health and coordinate all prescriptions with their primary physician to alleviate detrimental drug interaction or side effects.
- According to the 2014 report from the Missouri Foundation for Health, the leading cause of injury and death for older adults in the United States are slips and falls. Missouri’s rate of falls among older adults is 33% higher than the national average. Falls to an older adult can result in serious injury, such as hip fracture or head injury, which requires hospitalization. Clutter and tripping hazards, poor lighting, lack of grab bars, and broken railings all lead to fall risks. St. Andrew’s provides these seniors with minor home repair, safety updates and adaptive equipment to reduce risk of falls in the home.
Hear Glen’s story below about how the Safe Home for Seniors program has helped him.