Elves have been bustling lately to deliver Christmas cheer to more than 350 Contact Helpline Reassurance Program clients. The light blankets, scarves, hats, socks, gloves and toiletries they leave behind help clients meet some basic needs. They also share the message that someone cares.
“This is an opportunity to give something that may seem small to us, but can be important to them,” said Contact Executive Director Katrina Sunivelle.
Contact is a 24/7 crisis intervention phone line and is the initial point of contact to a wide range of available community resources. Its Reassurance Program provides a daily wellness call to 370 seniors or physically-challenged individuals living alone. The majority are age 80 or older; the eldest is 103, said Sunivelle. Clients are located in 13 Mississippi counties — Choctaw, Clay, Kemper, Lamar, Lee, Lowndes, Monroe, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Prentiss, Webster, Winston and Yalobusha.
Each winter, clients get more than a phone call; they receive a personal visit and small gifts. Most are donated by individuals who pick up a bell-shaped paper ornament from the Bells of Blessings trees up at Walmart.
“Walmart has partnered with us, and that has been a great project,” Sunivelle said. Church groups, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other organizations provide volunteers to collect, box and deliver the gifts.
Rebecca Goodwin welcomed Contact volunteers Dec. 14. Goodwin moved to Columbus in 2000 from St. Louis; she lives with her three-legged service dog Tee Tee.
“I have no one around, and have just a few friends, so having Contact check on me, that eases my mind,” Goodwin said.
Reassurance client Samaria Henry of Columbus also received gifts to help her stay warm this winter.
“There couldn’t be a better program than Contact,” Henry said, “They call me every night at 8 p.m. to see if I’m doing fine; if they can’t get me, they call my back-ups. And they give us gifts, too!”
AmeriCorps Vista Etricia Easley is the Reassurance Program coordinator at Contact.
“Etricia has done a wonderful job,” Sunivelle said. “We want to make sure we take care of our seniors. We rally help our clients. We become part of their family.”
For more information about Contact and its programs, visit contacthelplinegtrms.org or call 662-327-2968.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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