Peninsula Volunteers - Press Release

Press Contact:

Michelle Knapik
Executive Director & CEO
Peninsula Volunteers, Inc.
Phone: 650-326-0665 x223
Email

Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. Meals on Wheels Program Awarded $80,000 from Sequoia Healthcare District for Safety Net Services

MENLO PARK, CA July 8, 2009 – Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. (PVI) Meals on Wheels program announced that it was awarded $80,000 from Sequoia Healthcare District as part of the District’s focus on Staying Healthy in Tough Economic Times.

Peninsula Volunteers has been providing hot, nutritious meals to qualified homebound older adults since 1978, and last year delivered over 51,000 meals to those individuals in southern San Mateo County. These are all people who at risk of institutional placement and the Meals on Wheels program allows them to remain as independent as possible living in their own homes. Safety net services are in greater demand than ever due to the current economic situation and Meals on Wheels is no exception. Financial support for the Meals on Wheels program through San Mateo County Aging and Adult Services has remained static. The ability of Meals on Wheels recipients to contribute to the service has declined, while food costs have risen.

The “2008 Community Assessment: Health and Quality of Life in San Mateo County,” sponsored by the Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County stated, “Currently more than one out of three area seniors lives alone, and nearly one out of five lives below the 200% poverty threshold. Further, seniors in San Mateo County report much higher prevalence of debilitating chronic conditions, such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and chronic lung disease. Rates of diabetes, asthma and chronic lung disease are increasing among the senior population…” A key finding in the report: “As the fastest-growing population segment, the health and social needs of older adults require increasing attention.”

“We are pleased to be partnering with Sequoia Healthcare District to support the health and social needs of the homebound in our community during these tough economic times.” said Michelle Knapik, Executive Director of PVI. “This award supports the delivery of meals to our clients and will truly make a difference to the homebound of South San Mateo County.”

PVI is a pioneer in senior services and was the first volunteer organization to receive a HUD grant to develop and build low income senior housing in the United States. For more than 60 years, Peninsula Volunteers has created and provided high quality and nurturing programs for the aging in South San Mateo County, allowing them to pursue long and useful lives. Each year Peninsula Volunteers delivers over $4 million in services, including over 150,000 hot meals to seniors and the homebound, and touches over 4,500 households through its programs: Meals on Wheels; Little House, The Roslyn G. Morris Activity Center; Rosener House Adult Day Services; and Peninsula Volunteers Properties, Inc. The latter provides 82% of the affordable senior housing in Menlo Park, at Crane Place and Partridge/Kennedy Apartments. For more information please visit our web site at www.peninsulavolunteers.org.