Organizing our community to support seniors

North Fork Senior Connections is a three-year-old non-profit operating throughout the North Fork Valley of Western Colorado. Our Valley, and Delta County as a whole, has a much higher population of seniors than the state average and a higher poverty rate among that senior population. We are a rural, agricultural community, with 100 -year -old ranches, farms and orchards. Many of the seniors in this valley have lived here all their lives, and while they may have a home, they no longer have family nearby to assist them. Our communities are scattered and there is no public transportation linking us to larger towns for shopping or healthcare. Isolation and lack of transportation is a serious obstacle to seniors wishing to age in place. It is our mission to rally the community to provide essential services so seniors can remain in their homes and continue to be connected to the surrounding community. We provide programs and services free of charge, to make them accessible to all who need them. We recruit, vet, and train a large cadre of volunteers ranging from high school students, local adults and businesses, to active seniors moving to this area to retire. The community response to our organization has been excellent, and several local businesses and agricultural organizations are now donating fresh, local and nutritious food, which our volunteers then distribute to low income seniors. We are also working with the local healthcare clinic and the ambulance service to ensure seniors have transportation for doctors appointments and appropriate home medical support when needed.