Health and Human Services

This is the session of Leadership Charlottesville that I privately thought of as the "slit your wrists" session. We spent a depressing afternoon learning about the challenges of caring for Charlotteville's impoverished and senior populations. One speaker jokingly offered to pass out the Prozac.

This topic is where my heart lies. Previously I've worked to resinstate removed Medicaid benefits and been part of grant writing teams that supplied needed and necessary support to those in need. In Charlottesville, where there are many affluent families, the percentage of people living in poverty is 25.9. That's extremely high. Health care is not easily accessed; dental care even less so, with children living in poverty accesssing dental care at a rate of only eight percent.

We heard from Cathy Train of the local chapter of the United Way, who shared the story of a typical day of a single mother trying to do the best for her children, struggling with the daily challenges of not having enough money, good childcare or enough time to devote to getting ahead. Medical professionals and social services program representatives shared their challenges as well. There are many programs that need support, but more than that, there is a need for the targeted community to be aware of and have help gaining access to the programs that exist. Sometimes, when the daily challenge is to provide enough food for your family, a trip to the dentist's is awfully far down on the list of priorities.

The other portion of the session dealt with Human Services for the Elderly. An older gentleman shared his story as a caregiver. He has been providing in-home care for his wife who has Alzheimer's disease for several years. It was very compelling to have a firsthand account of someone who has accessed nearly every program available to the elderly in our community. As our population grows older, with Baby Boomers pushing toward retirement age, these programs need to stay viable and strong to support not only our grandparents and parents, but one day, all of us as well. Any investment in programs for the elderly is an investment in our own futures.

Someone used the word bleak to describe some of the stories shared during this session. Ever the optimist, it's encouraging for me to learn that programs exist, that programs are not all at capacity, that there's room for support and these groups are certainly reaching out for help.

The difficult part is choosing, and successfully making a difference.