Hands to Help Seniors

View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

There was a heartbreaking story in the Monterey Herald about a veteran named John Thomas Doody who was in a coma and using a ventilator, but his mother refused to put him in a nursing home and instead chose to care for him in her own home.  I understand how she feels.  The quality of care of a person in a nursing home is unlikely to be at the level of family caregivers if they have been properly trained to deal with the person's current medical condition.  And it's extremely hard to get a family caregiver to let go of a loved one, even if their prospects look bleak.  But this man's mother quit her job and moved her family to Tampa, Florida so that she could take care of him at home but still be close to a veteran's hospital.  He was shot while serving in the Marines in Iraq and suffered a series of strokes while trying to recover.  Although he's nearly blind and paralyzed, his mother says that he's made significant improvement over the years and she's hopeful for further recovery.  The V.A. has a program for families in a pickle such as this where the family caregivers are trained and given $2,000 a month plus 30 days of respite per year.  The respite is well needed, one of our Platinum Sponsors, Family inHome Caregiving, provides this service, and it is so welcomed by the families.  Although the $2,000 per month is not enough, it's certainly welcomed by the families.  Sadly, there are a lot of families who aren't eligible for this benefit which was created by Congress after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  It was not made retroactive, but many veterans are trying to get Congress to study the feasibility of the plan.  It currently serves 11,000 caregivers, but the Congressional Budget Office estimates it would need to enroll another 70,000 caregivers in the program to make it available to all disabled veterans retroactively.  Unfortunately, given our current budget situation, I think this is unlikely to happen.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

Congress is preparing for a showdown over food stamps, with many pushing for draconian cuts to the program and others suggesting that the program should be eliminated altogether.  Even without the legislation, those Americans that are on the program (called the CalFresh Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)) will see a reduction in benefits in November due to the expiration of President Barack Obama's stimulus program.  Republicans are looking for sharp cuts.  Representative Stephen Fincher (Republican, Tenn.) told Congress, "The role of citizens, of Christianity, of humanity, is to take care of each other, not for Washington to steal from those in the country and give to others in the country."  In another speech, he said, "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."  The problem with this argument is that unemployment is still high, and baby boomers and senior citizens in particular are having a terrible time finding jobs.  And even the current SNAP program isn't doing enough to help all of the hungry people out there.  A survey by the Department of Agriculture which was released this month said that there were about 49 million Americans who don't have consistent access through the year to adequate food. 

http://www.calfresh.ca.gov/

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/us/as-debate-reopens-food-stamp-recipients-continue-to-squeeze.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130905

About Richard Kuehn & Hands to Help Seniors:

After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member, it became clear to me that there are many seniors that can't afford to pay for a private duty caregiver, not to mention medical expenses, food and property taxes on their home.  I decided to form a non-profit to help seniors with any service they might need to get by, should they be unable to afford this themselves.  From putting on a new roof to providing a hot meal, Hands to Help Seniors is there to help.  Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:

http://www.h2hs.org/news-and-media.html

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

I have been glad to see that there have been a number of stories recently about the economy recovering.  There was even a story about how the homeless population in the U.S. declining, dropping 17% since 2005.  Veterans, I was happy to see, are on the street 17% less than in 2009 when the recession was in full bore, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  Much of the reduction is, ironically, tied to the recession.  President Barack Obama implemented his stimulus program in 2009 and 2010 to boost the economy, and part of this was a federal investment in housing.  In Monterey, unfortunately, we are not so lucky.  There has been quite an increase in the homeless population since a homeless person murdered a shopkeeper in Santa Cruz and the authorities started to aggressively chase people out of town.  Dorothy's Place in Salinas, sadly, supports a number of homeless senior citizens who are on the street.  We applaud there good work.  It's difficult to raise money for a non-profit despite the increased economy. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

I was on both CBS and Fox local news this week, who did a story about a woman in Carmel Valley that we helped last year and again this year.  Helga Felay was so grateful for the work that we did on her house and was willing to do an interview with KION TV, which also talked to me and one of our volunteers.  This resulted in great publicity for the company and I hope it will result in more ticket sales for our event at Bernardus Lodge on September 19.  This is our big fundraising event for the year and we have a lot riding on it.  Last year, it was great fun.  We had seniors modeling silent auction items on the croquet lawn at Bernardus, and there was great weather.  This year, we will also start outside with a wine tasting.  There will be a live band and a silent auction and then we will go inside for a three course sit-down meal.  We hope to see you there!  To take a look at the story KION news did on us, please click here.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

The Labor Department this week issued final rules which require federal contractors to prove that they are hiring a minimum number of veterans and disabled workers.  That's great news.  It's been so tough for those returning from war to find meaningful employment, and this can lead to depression.  The rules now require 8% of the workforce to be veterans and 7% disabled if the company is one of 200,000 that holds a contract with the federal government.  This is a huge victory for veterans, as these companies have contracts valued at $700 billion a year across a wide range of industries.  And the Department of Labor is serious about enforcement.  If these companies don't send in the paperwork showing that they have met these goals, their contracts will be revoked.    

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