Two Boca Organizations Join Forces to Provide ‘Seamless’ Service

Published Monday, September 17, 2007
by By Dale M. King

Two Boca Raton organizations that deal with the homebound are joining forces to ensure that people who find it difficult to leave the house receive food, friendship, transportation and other services.

Boca Helping Hands (BHH) and Volunteers for the Homebound & Family Caregivers (VHFC) have partnered to provide a coordinated and seamless process of delivering support services for persons in the Boca Raton community who live alone and are homebound.

BHH President Dave Freudenberg and Dr. Connie Siskowski, founder and president of VHFC, said this newly formed partnership was a natural progression for both organizations, and has been designed to maximize the ongoing quality of care, efficiency and effectiveness of each.

"Through our food program, financial assistance and employment search programs, Boca Helping Hands has helped provide for the basic needs of a growing number of local clients," said Linda Gove, executive director of BHH. "We are excited about the partnership because it will provide our hot meal homebound customers with additional resources.

Until now, Gove said, BHH delivered hot meals to the homebound while VHFC volunteers provided friendly visits and transportation to supermarkets, malls, pharmacies and doctor visits, among other things.

Filling ‘gap’

Gove said she knew Siskowski and had volunteered at one of her events. They got to talking about the “gap” between the services each organization provided to the homebound.

Now, that gap is filled.

“We can be sure that out volunteers bring them hot meals and that VHFC volunteers provide visits and transportation,” Gove said.

She said Boca Helping Hands delivers meals to the homebound five days a week – Monday through Thursday and on Saturday.

Coincidentally, there’s some crossover among the volunteers. Summer Faerman works at BHH and VHFC. Gove said Bruce and Barbara Bell volunteer at Boca Helping Hands Tuesdays and for the other organization Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The joint effort is part of the two organizations’ goal of providing individuals and families with independence and stability.

Siskowski said the mission of VHFC - to promote dignity and independence for people who are homebound and caregiving families of all ages -- is consistent with the goal of BHH.

Better together

"Now, together with Boca Helping Hands, we can provide comprehensive support services that include the physical, financial, social, emotional, and psychological needs of each individual and caregiving family," she explained.

Among the goals of the newly formed partnership are the facilitation of appropriate and seamless referrals between agencies, in-home assessments of homebound clients to maximize their awareness of community resources for which they are eligible, client assistance in obtaining services for which they are entitled and desire, and assurance of the safety of the home environment.

For more information on BHH, call 561-417-0913 or visit www.bocahelpinghands.org. Information about VHFC is available by calling 561-391-7401 or visiting www.boca-respite.org and www.aacy.org.

Dale M. King can be reached at 561-549-0832 or at dking@bocanews.com.