My Nonprofit Reviews

Senior Citizens Council of Clackamas County is an exceedingly worthwhile organization that helps prevent the exploitation of at risk seniors and adults while supporting and promoting independence of the at risk and vulnerable population. It serves to prevent or end abuse and neglect (including self-neglect) .

Many of its clients are in dire financial, mental and physical situations. They may have no one to turn to or those that they turn to have sought to exploit them. Interventions from law enforcement, the legal or health care system look to Senior Council to take whatever action is necessary to protect and prevent further abuse or exploitation. Senior Council is a very small non profit that makes the best use of its funding and is a well respected organization in its community.

I have volunteered with this organization for approximately 30 years and have never once felt like it had anything but the best interests of its clients at heart. Sometimes the organization has to represent the most vulnerable of its community seniors in a zealous manner as others continue to try and engage in ongoing exploitation. Other times, Senior Citizens Council is able to divert those to alternative services in order to avoid more restrictive options. It does all this on a very limited budget. Thankfully, these services are available as there are very few other options available for those in these crisis situations.

I sit on the advisory committee for the Sr. Citizens Council and primarily deal with the guardianship/conservatorship aspect of the program. I have been a member of the advisory committee for over 15 years. This is a volunteer position.

Although a few of the program clients are capable of private pay, the vast majority of interventions deal with poor, non-private paying individuals who are unable to care for themselves either financially, physically, emotionally or mentally. These are seniors who have been subjected to abuse from family, care-providers or strangers. Many times, they have no other support in the community or from family. Social services, law enforcement, and the judicial system has in many cases become involved. And we are not talking about our youth or the mainstream of society. We are dealing with the most vulnerable, the elderly of society, our parents and grand-parents.

I have seen many of those who would otherwise have died an early death or been cheated from their remaining assets, protected and placed in a proper setting where they can be assisted both medically and financially. Many have made tremendous recoveries and have been able to live a life in peace and good health. This would never have happened without this program and the tremendously hard work of Christie and Lousie, and all others who work in the program.

I see the staff working beyond call. I see this essential work being performed on a shoe string budget. Funding of the program is always a stressor. Fund raising is a time consuming and distracting mechanism which effectively distracts from the underlying work that needs to be performed.

I have enjoyed my work with the committee and am hoping to continue to volunteer for as long as needed. I get a great deal of satisfaction from helping those seniors who need our help the most. It is a great program and deserves the accolades that it receives and a proper source of funding that it deserves.

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