CASA of Madison County

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CASA staff and volunteers provide a diverse array of direct services to the elderly and homebound at no cost to the client, including Information and Referral, Grocery Shopping Assistance, Medication Delivery, Fans / Air Conditioners / Space Heaters and Yard Work. Check out the links below for more information about specific services!

All CASA services are provided at no cost to our clients and are based solely on need, without regard to income, race, social status or religion. CASA is a non-profit United Way agency with independent offices located in Madison, DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, and Marshall Counties of northern Alabama.

Wheelchair Ramps

CASA builds wheelchair ramps for needy individuals regardless of income or age and at no cost to the client. Wheelchair ramps provide CASA clients the mobility necessary for safely entering and leaving their homes, while promoting a sense of independence and freedom and access to the outside world. Each ramp is custom designed for each client and built by CASA volunteers. By providing wheelchair ramps, we are providing our clients with the knowledge that there are people in the community who truly care about their well-being.

Between July 1st of 2008 and June 30th of 2009, 38 teams of 456 CASA Ramp volunteers built 86 wheelchair ramps, repaired 60 ramps, and painted 80 ramps! Even with this tremendous effort, we still have many individuals waiting for their wheelchair ramps to be built so they may have access to the outside world! If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to build wheelchair ramps, call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

CASA Community Garden

The CASA Community Garden is located at 4725 Bob Wallace Avenue and is a true community garden that is planted, maintained, and harvested entirely by volunteers. Bennett Nurseries, Windmill Gardens, Earth Touch and Catbird Seat donate all seeds, plants, and a number of supplies used in the Garden.

All produce from the garden is delivered to our elderly and homebound clients throughout Madison County. Since 1994, the CASA Community Garden has produced and harvested over 188,400 pounds of fresh vegetables. Each year, hundreds of CASA clients receive fresh produce through the efforts of our volunteers and the bounty of this garden.

During the 2009 growing season, the CASA Garden had 47 volunteer groups and many individual community members who devoted a total of 5,250 volunteer hours. In spite of the cost of gasoline for the delivery volunteers, the CASA Community Garden in 2009 harvested and delivered over 3,800 pounds of fresh vegetables to our CASA clients. To volunteer or for more information, please call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

TEMP$

The Taking Energy Measures Personally = $avings (TEMP$) program is an annual one day event in which teams of CASA volunteers weatherize the homes of clients by putting plastic on windows, insulating pipes, caulking breaches, installing smoke detectors, replacing storm doors and performing other small repairs.

The success of this program depends entirely on the support of our local community. With more and more volunteers working every year, we have been able to provide additional services such as yard work and wheelchair ramp painting. CASA client's benefit not only from the home improvements, but also from the camaraderie and personal attention paid them by our volunteers!

On Saturday, November 7th, 2009, 214 CASA client homes were weatherized by 35 TEMP$ 2009 Teams, made up of 760 community volunteers. If you or a group you are involved in would like to volunteer for TEMP$ Day 2010, call the CASA office or us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

CASA would like to thank the Honey Baked Ham Company for its sponsorship of TEMP$!

honeybakeham

Friendly Visitor

Companionship is often the most desperate need of our elderly and homebound clients. The Friendly Visiting and Telephone Reassurance Programs are designed to provide our clients with the socialization and reassurance needed to keep them emotionally safe and secure in their homes. Compassionate CASA volunteers make regular phone calls and visits to our isolated, and often lonely, elderly and homebound clients. Telephone reassurance / friendly visiting also offers an opportunity to continually monitor and address the client's general welfare and needs throughout the year.

Between July 1st of 2008 and June 30th of 2009, 135 CASA Friendly Visiting and Telephone Reassurance volunteers spent 902 hours visiting 219 CASA clients! For more information on how you can volunteer for Friendly Visiting or Telephone Reassurance for CASA clients, call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org .

Deliveries

When CASA's clients request items such as food boxes, often they need be delivered to their home. These clients cannot drive due to their age and health and many live alone with no family in town. To ensure these clients get what they need, CASA finds volunteers to deliver them. These items include medical equipment, vegetables from the CASA Community Garden, holiday gifts, fans in the summer, and heaters in the winter. 1,744 CASA Delivery volunteers devoted 7,175 volunteer hours to deliver: 412 food boxes, 101 fans, 64 air conditioners, 105 heaters, 1,162 various holiday gifts, and 172 holiday dinners. CASA clients benefit not only from the items they receive, but also from interaction with the volunteers. If you would like to volunteer, call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

5,566 CASA volunteers devoted 63,319 volunteer hours to: deliver 591 pieces of durable medical equipment; deliver 46 fans, 41 A/Cs, 105 heaters; 1,046 Safety Net client home visits made; 467 pieces of medical equipment provided to clients; install 293 grab bars and handrails; build 103 ramps, paint 69 ramps, repair 82 ramps; deliver 574 food boxes; provide transportation to 1,123 appointments and errands; grow/deliver over 4100 lbs. of garden produce.

Safety Items

Safety Items CASA provides durable medical equipment (DME) such as tub transfer benches, bedside commodes and walkers. Between July 1st of 2008 and June 30th of 2009, 522 of these items were given to 510 CASA clients helping them to maintain their independence within their own homes. One-third of seniors fall every year, and two-thirds of those who have fallen, fall again within six months. Safety items (DME) such as walkers can decrease the risk of falls. Reducing the risk of falls for frail and vulnerable elderly citizens is one of CASA's the most crucial objectives.

Adopt-A-Lawn

Adopt-A-Lawn Yards do not notice the age of the owner. They do not grow less because their owner cannot mow the lawn every week. In the adopt a lawn program, CASA finds volunteers to take one client and mow their lawn on a regular basis. This is a great project for individuals or groups. Groups can rotate members from week to week. If you would like to volunteer for this program, call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

Safety Net

Safety Net is a program funded by the Huntsville Hospital Community Health Initiative, which assists seniors with medical needs and provides assessments and referrals to federal, state, and local programs. Medical professionals are available for individual counseling, group educational programs and health fairs at no cost to Senior residents of Madison County. CASA may also assist with medical equipment and supplies.

CASA's Safety Net personnel coordinate area health fairs throughout the year. These fairs offer blood pressure, vision, blood sugar, and hearing screenings, as well as flu shots, bone density screening, and many educational materials. We would like to thank all vendors who participated in these worthwhile events. We could not offer these fairs without the participation of the community and we sincerely look forward to collaborating with you in the future.

Other Safety Net services include:
• Assessment of client and home environment
• Case management services
• Identification of interventions/equipment needed to enhance client safety
• Referral to community resources
• Education of clients and caregivers
• Help clients to understand their medical conditions and ways to improve their health situations
• Help educate clients about Medicare Drug cards
• Provide group programs for clients about specific health topics

Between July 1st of 2008 and June 30th of 2009, 361 CASA Safety Net volunteers, from local universities and Alternative Spring Break participants, spent over 4,409 hours visiting 621 CASA clients. Also during this timeframe, over 5,400 clients attended health fairs and workshops supported by Safety Net Staff and volunteers, receiving health education and community resource information. If you would like more information about volunteering for the Safety Net Program, or know someone who would benefit from one of these services, please call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

THANK YOU HUNTSVILLE HOSPITAL!
www.huntsvillehospital.org
Huntsville Hospital Community Health Initiative

Transportation

Many of CASA's clients are unable to drive due to age or poor health. The Transportation Program provides CASA's elderly clients with a means of traveling to scheduled medical appointments, or to other essential places such as the pharmacy or grocery store. CASA staff members coordinate community volunteers to provide this service. Between July 1st of 2008 and June 30th of 2009, 249 CASA Transportation volunteers devoted 1,540 hours transporting 457 CASA clients! For more information on how you can volunteer for Transportation for CASA clients, call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

Grab Bars and Handrails

This program provides CASA clients with assistance in remaining independent and safe by providing and installing grab bars and handrails in areas of the client's home where aid is physically required. CASA volunteers install grab bars and handrails that aid our elderly clients get in and out of the shower, give assistance in hallways and help them get up and down stairs. These bars are critical in helping CASA clients prevent debilitating falls. As with all CASA programs, this service is provided at no cost to the client.

Between July 1st of 2008 and June 30th of 2009, 6 CASA Grab bar and Handrail volunteers installed 293 grab bars and handrails for 195 CASA clients! Yearly trends indicate an ever increasing demand for installation of grab bars and handrails as the elderly population continues to grow. For more information on how you can volunteer to install handrails and grab bars for CASA clients, call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

Minor Home Repairs

The Minor Home Repair program is designed to assist the elderly and homebound with projects around their homes that they cannot do for themselves. These repairs help to keep clients safe while enabling them to maintain a sense of pride in their home surroundings. Volunteers provide CASA clients with basic home repair and maintenance services including tasks such as yardwork, firewood cutting, exterior house painting, smoke detector installations, light bulb and battery replacements, door replacement, window repair and door lock installation. When necessary, CASA searches the local community for donated equipment and funding to purchase the supplies needed to complete the project. Larger projects that require the efforts of more than one individual volunteer make great group projects for local churches and businesses!

Many CASA clients receive citations from the city of Huntsville condemning their homes. One of CASA's clients recently received such a citation and the volunteer group that worked on her home during CASA's TEMP$ Program stepped in to assess the situation and possibly help. This team took on this extensive project and proceeded to correct all of the violations on this house cited by the City. Without the help of CASA and our volunteers, legal action would have been taken against our client by the City and she surely would have been made to vacate her home.

If you or a group you are involved in would like to volunteer to perform home repairs for CASA's elderly clients, please call the CASA office or email us at askus@casamadisoncty.org.

CASA of Madison County, 701 Andrew Jackson Way, Huntsville, AL 35801 Map it

Phone: (256) 533-7775 Fax: (256) 533-7544 E-mail: info@casamadisoncty.org Subscribe to CASA's E-Newsletter

CASA is a United Way of Madison County Agency and Participates in the Combined Federal Campaign, CFC Agency #78895

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