By José Antonio Perez
The José Dávalos Valdivia Home for the Elderly, or rather “Casa Hogar”, is currently at max capacity, which is why the Board has decided to implement a “Francisco” pilot program to take meals to elderly adults who presently cannot be housed at the home.
Santiago Ruiz Hurtado, Casa Hogar Board President, detailed the strategy consists of providing support to low-income elderly adults by taking meals directly to their homes at least three times a week (like a “Meals on Wheels”).
He stressed that ideally the home would be able to house more individuals, however the facility only has a 25-resident capacity. In addition, the Fire Department recommended they not go over this number following fire drills they have run at the home.
In its first phase, and along with assistance of American Legion MX Post 15, the program takes meals to five elderly individuals living in the city’s center. The goal is to continue the program in order to provide meal service to 10 or 15 “abuelos” in their homes.
Ruiz Hurtado indicated the home has been at its resident limit for the past 3 months, currently housing 26 adults after recently receiving an elderly individual who had been living on the street, however they are not able to receive anymore at this time. This is one of the reasons they have sought to extend the services of Casa Hogar to other elderly individuals in the community.