Area agency on aging is providing heat house checks for senior citizens

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- This is the hottest day of the year. Dangerously, so.

That’s because the heat index has soared.

Some local residents are especially vulnerable to these temperatures.

When you don’t have the basics like a fan, or even water it’s easy to become dehydrated quick.

Day after day, workers with the Area Agency on Aging have been checking on their clients.

That’s more than a thousand house checks per month, assisting elderly and disabled seniors.

As temperatures soar, The Golden Triangle Planning and Development District has kept an eye on their seniors.

Sometimes, their clients call in with broken air conditioning units or fans, which can make it unbearable it their homes.

Executive Director Rudy Johnson urged staff to check those A/C units and more.

“I’m passionate about our seniors, we do go above and beyond what we need to do but they don’t have any help from anybody else,” said Johnson.

With the heat steadily rising, staff members checked and called multiple homes to ensure seniors are cooled off and hydrated.

A year ago, employees delivered hundreds of fans.

“We gave like 500 box fans away last year,” said Johnson.

They plan to do the same this year.

Personal Care member Minnie Lindsey keeps a report on which homes may need assistance.

“They’ll come back and let us know where somebody needs a fan in their home and then we make sure they get one,” said Lindsey.

Johnson said it’s important seniors are tended to everyday.

We are the only people that might see them in a month’s time. Our seniors are a forgotten group really because nobody cares, but we care. You gotta give back, if you don’t give back you don’t have a heart, you don’t care. So that’s why we give back everyday,” said Johnson.

The Area Agency on Aging also provides monthly medication, house-keeping, and meals during home visits.

Categories: Local News

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