By Marianne Lincoln

Over and over I read posts on social media about a friend, family member, a neighbor, or a woman with children on the street all who need social services of some kind. The biggest problem is most people are not versed in available social services. The social services come from so many different agencies of city, county, or state government, non-profit organizations and religious institutions.

Just a few days ago I notarized documents for a local senior whose Social Security check no longer covers his mortgage, utilities and food. Along with medical needs, these issues can become overwhelming and put a person in depression where they no longer motivate themselves to seek out what they need.

On a Zoom meeting Tuesday with the Communities of Focus Resident and Partner Meeting, they introduced and centralized service for people in need. You can refer someone or they may refer themselves for services.

This assistance site is called Elevate Health. https://elevatehealth.org/ They even have the capacity to find services for a friend in another state through a broader network across the country.

For my friend, I did a referral and when they were able to reach him, they set me an email to let me know they have a social worker who has checked in on him and is assisting him to connect with the help he needs, from finally getting an EBT card, to locating clothing and assistance for his utilities and pets.

The Internet’s benefits are becoming clearer when these social services can band together in a network and trained navigators are available to guide you through. We all know a senior or two that is not computer savvy and could benefit from a person to guide their steps.

I hope you can also make use of this one day to help someone you kow.