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-- Programs and Services -- Contact Information The Elder Care Fund:
Emergency help for Seniors
By Lisa Lungo, Elder Services Director of Client Services
The Elder Care Fund was established by Elder Services of Berkshire County to help elders in the county with urgent and essential needs that are not covered by any other funding source. Many elders have been helped over the years. Anyone in Berkshire County over age 60 can apply to the fund for financial assistance. The fund has provided assistance with payment of prescription medications when sudden and unexpected changes in someone’s health insurance occurred, payment of a security deposit on an apartment to prevent an elder from becoming homeless, and partial payment of a past due telephone bill to prevent shut off of service to a very low income elder.
To apply to the fund for emergency assistance, call Elder Services’ office at 413-499-0524 or toll free 1-800-544-5242 and speak with the Intake and Referral Department. The application asks for a description of how the funds will be used, the emergency nature of the request, and what other resources have been explored. In general, requests are limited to $200, one request per elder is accepted in a calendar year, and recipients are asked to establish a repayment plan, if at all possible. Applications are carefully reviewed by a three member committee to determine the emergency, to verify that all other sources of funding have been exhausted, and to assess if there are any other services that might assist the elder.
The Elder Care Fund is largely replenished through donations made to Elder Services. In the past couple of years, the fund has been accessed by an increasing number of elders with emergency needs and as a result, the fund is seriously diminished. If you would like to financially support this emergency funding source for elders in Berkshire County, send your tax-deductible donation to Elder Services’ Elder Care Fund, 66 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 01201.