SERVE SUCCESS STORIES

Callaway Transportation – Our success story is about a young male double amputee in a wheel chair  who resided in the northern part of our county who was transported by CalTran to/from a service provider in Mexico to receive counseling services.  Due to several health issues, his need for financial support to cover the cost of his disability services and health care was becoming overwhelming.  His application for Medicaid was pending, and he was becoming very depressed over his inability to care for himself and the loss of his independence.  Since losing his ability to drive, he was isolated and dependent on others to provide for him.  We transported this young man for 2 months (once a week) for his medical appointments in Mexico.  The driving staff watched the transformation as he came out of the depression, worked at getting his Medicaid approved, applied for and was approved for public housing in Mexico, and was able to relocate closer to his medical support services. Transportation allowed him to remain independent and to regain the courage to move forward with his life.  He called us to say a special “thanks” for going the extra mile in helping him when things looked so bleak, explaining that without the transportation his counseling appointments would not have happened. He credits CalTran and his caseworker for his ability to regain his independence.  Even though this was an over-extension for our program (financially), we know that we did the right thing for the right reasons.

RSVP - A RSVP volunteer has resided in Fulton, MO since 2001.  Upon moving into public housing, she saw a need to bring life and involvement into her senior neighborhood. Residents complained about how they couldn’t get answers from Housing Authority staff when repairs were needed or when outsiders were allowed to use their reserved parking spaces.  As an advocate for the seniors, she was appointed in 2002 to serve on the Fulton Housing Authority Board of Directors as a Commissioner representing the residents.  She accepted the position and is currently serving her second term.  After learning policies and procedures, she went about educating the residents on how they could be part of the decision making process for setting policies and goals for public housing.  As editor of the monthly housing newsletter, she is able to educate and inform the residents of policy changes and how they can give input to the housing administration and board.  This publication is distributed to 200 housing households with another 80 copies going to agencies, government officials, and community leaders.  Some of the activities that she has had a leadership role in are the “Yard of the Month” contest, yearly plant give-a-way, and the “Outdoor Lighting Contest”.  She completed the “Master Gardener” program sponsored by University Extension and continues to answer questions about planting flowers that the residents have and currently serves as Vice-President for the Callaway County Master Gardener Club.

Besides working with the property concerns of the residents, she saw that the physical health of many of the residents was affecting their ability to enjoy life.  She joined efforts with six other RSVP volunteers and became involved with learning about living with chronic health issues.  She completed “Better Self-Management of Diabetes” a certified course of study which gives her the ability to facilitate chronic disease support groups (six-week sessions) and promote and recruit new participants in need of assistance in managing their diabetes and other chronic health issues (i.e. heart disease, arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema).  She deals with arthritis, diabetes, and emphysema herself, which may slow her down from time to time but does not get in the way of her ability to work with her mind and provide services to others.

She is a model volunteer who practices and believes that to be healthy you must be balanced in mind, body, and spirit.  She believes that your conditions and surroundings can either build you up or keep you down.  She believes that daily living is a choice and that only you can choose how to spend your day.  She feels that through volunteerism, she has made a healthy choice that gives her the opportunity to meet and work with people from all walks of life.