Dear Editor:
The Independence Township Senior Center continues to be a vital resource in helping citizens in need in this community, including Clarkston. But, more may need to be done. There are residents of the City of Clarkston who may need help and have not been identified. Also, additional resources have to be identified and coordinated in order to help those in need.
An example of impending need is to help Clarkston senior citizens who need it to remove heavy snow from their steps, walks, and, perhaps, drives this winter so that they may get out ? for food, medical appointments, or whatever. Hence, steps are being taken to create a network of community resources, such as the Senior Center, Clarkston Schools, Lighthouse North, local churches, civic organizations, and individual neighbors, to provide help to Clarkston seniors.
This is intended to be an evolving process of developing a service network and identifying citizens in need. I have been asked by a Clarkston City Council member Kristy Ottman to explore the possibility of setting up some system of helpers for our seniors. I have met with Independence Township Director of Parks and Recreation Mike Turk concerning a means of identifying such seniors and establishing a way for them to ask for help. He informed me that they have a similar program in place through the Senior Center and saw no difficulty in coordinating something.
Subsequently, I met with Senior Center Coordinator Margaret Bartos and Senior Services Coordinator Karen Koenigbauer who assured me of their cooperation. I shared details of those conversations with City Councilperson Kristy Ottman. She informed the City Council that there will be a survey of the city to identify those seniors in need, what their needs are, and neighbors who are willing and able to be part of a volunteer ‘resource pool? for providing some services. Thereby, we can get a sense of the need and of the ‘neighbor to neighbor? services which might be available.
‘This is about building better relationships with other people…We are talking about getting involved in the lives of neighbors who need and want our help.?
Tom Stone
Clarkston