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Blue Grass Community Action Partnership, Inc. 2022-2023 Annual report

BGCAP Mission Statement

A Message from our Executive Director, Troy Roberts:

War on Poverty

In March of 1964, President Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" and presented to congress his direction to Sargent Shriver to assist in drafting legislation for the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Congress passed this act and on August 20, 1964, President Johnson signed this act into law.

History of BGCAP:

bgcap senior staff

Left to Right: Troy Roberts, Executive Director and Wendy Shouse, Chief Operations Officer

BGCAP FINANCIALS

Our programs & impact on our service area

BGCAP proudly serves Anderson, Boyle, Franklin, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln, Mercer, Scott, and Woodford Counties.

Adult Day Centers

BGCAP has a total of 46 Adult Day Participants
Adult Day Health is a program designed to meet the social and medical needs in our community. Their services are provided under health leadership in an ambulatory care setting for adults who do not require 24-hour care and yet, due to physical, mental, or social impairments, are not capable of full-time independent living. All staff members are certified in CPR and First Aid. A nurse is always on staff.

BGCAP Transit

BGCAP Transit provided 206,100 trips to clients in our service area!
BGCAP Transit provides clean, safe, and reliable public transportation at little or no cost. Medicaid eligible clients without vehicles are provided transportation to approved Medicaid appointments without cost. Para-Transit Services are provided, and a fee-per-mile service is available to the general public.

Senior Citizens Centers

bgcap has 2,219 senior center clients and has provided 20,429 trips!

The Senior Centers were allowed to return to in-person services following the pandamic. We have gotten back to normal transportation, meals, monthly trips, recreation, and have added some new exercise classes such as "Drums Alive!"

Senior Citizens Centers are designed to help the community meet the needs of the aging population by providing congregate and home delivered meals, transportation services, health promotion, nutrition education, exercise, trips, scheduled activities, and mental stimulation to name a few. The program is designed for those 60 years of age or older but are prepared and actively providing exciting activities for our Baby Boomer Generation. A special emphasis is placed on identifying rural, disabled, Alzheimer's, dementia clients, minorities and those with the greatest social and nutritional needs.

Elder Nutrition

The Elder Nutrition Program provided 139,018 congregate and home delivered meals to 1,966 clients!
The Elder Nutrition Program provides management for congregate and home delivered meals for twenty nutrition sites in the following seventeen counties: Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Estill, Fayette (3 centers), Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lincoln, Madison (Berea center and Richmond center), Mercer, Nicholas, Powell, Scott and Woodford. The program's goal is to deliver quality meals to the nutrition sites and homebound clients (age 60 years of age and older) so that senior citizens who receive the meals have nutritionally sound meals that meet at least one-third of the current daily recommended dietary allowance. Although prepared with minimal salt, sugar and fat, all meals are regular diet, except that diabetic desserts are available on request.

Head Start Program

The Head Start Program has funding for 303 children to enroll in the program

Senior Companion Program

The Senior Companion Program has 31 participants.
Shirleen (top right) received the Volunteer of the Year award at the Senior Companion Recognition
The Senior Companion Program provides volunteer service opportunities for active low-income seniors that builds self-esteem and contributes to their mental and physical well-being.

This program helps the senior volunteer remain a viable, contributing member of the community by providing assistance to "at-risk" elderly who need extra support in order to maintain their independent status and to remain in their homes.

SCSEP Program

The SCSEP Program currently has 19 Trainees.
The Title V - Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) was established to foster and promote useful part-time employment opportunities in community service activities for low-income persons who have poor employment prospects. This program provides training to persons age 55 and older at a host agency to help them become more employable.

Community Services

we took a total of 12,345 applications and assisted 10,531 households during liheap subsidy and crisis.

Kynect Program

These pictures are from the Mercer County Health and Resource Fair our Kynectors attended.
Our Kynectors took a total of 1,579 applications to help enroll people for health insurance.

Weatherization Program

The Weatherization Program weatherized 24 homes!

everyday heroes:

Pictured Above: Troy Roberts presents an "Everyday Hero" award to Omar Muhammad, Wayne Lister, and Thomas Clay. These 3 employees used their on-the-job training to jump in and take action in emergency situations.

Mobility coach success story:

Pictured above: Catrice Owens

Catrice contacted BGCAP because she had no income, no transportation, she was behind on her rent payment and the household needed food. After initial intake, Catrice met Melissa, a BGCAP Mobility Coach. Together, they completed the assessment process and created a customized goal plan to address the challenges that Catrice was facing and identify opportunities for her future.

Melissa and Catrice developed short and long-term goals. First, she was introduced to programs that could assist her with utility and rental assistance. She enrolled in the BGCAP Employment Assistance training, and they created a household budget. Catrice’s mobility coach connected her to public transportation and within weeks, Catrice was riding BGCAP Transit and volunteering at her son’s Head Start Program. Catrice soon started showing interest in being a teacher one day.

Today, Catrice continues to work with her BGCAP Team and is employed, full-time, as an Assistant Teacher at BGCAP – Jessamine County Head Start. She is currently enrolled in the Child Development Associate program at the Learning Academy and has purchased a vehicle. Catrice is maintaining her monthly household bills and continues to improve her financial well-being.

Senior Center Success Story:

The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on our nation, specifically our aging population. Health and isolation impacted our seniors and while resources, such as local senior centers, were mandated to close their doors to in-person congregation, the service and support provided by them remained consistent.

Two years ago, not long after their 50th wedding anniversary, Mr. AG unexpectedly lost his wife. While she constantly reminded him to take care of his health, she had ignored her own, allowing her heart issues to go undiagnosed. Mr. AG was devastated, and consistently questioned himself about what he could have done differently and if his actions could have changed the outcome of her untimely death. After being married for 50 years and together for longer, Mr. AG felt lost and without direction or purpose.

About six months after his wife passed away, Mr. AG noticed the deterioration in his emotional and social state, so decided he needed to get out of the house. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many social venues and businesses were closed to in-person gatherings. As he began to consider his options, he remembered his mother had started going to her local senior center in Wisconsin after his father died. Wondering if his town had something similar, he began his research. Since he frequently went to get prescriptions filled at the downtown drug store, he asked them, and they referred him to the local Senior Center.

He called as soon as he got home so he could learn more about what the senior center does. Staff at the center answered and explained to him the current state of the senior center and how the pandemic had impacted services. Additionally, staff assured him that once the center was able to be reopened, they would be advertising the opening and would be reaching out to those who had called in interested. A couple months later, Mr. AG received the news he had been waiting on—the senior center was reopening.

Since the center has reopened to in-person services, Mr. AG has been a regular attendee, coming to both congregate days as well as field trips and special events. Mr. AG has flourished as a senior center member and has stated on numerous occasions that the senior center and its staff and clients give him hope and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. While at the center, Mr. AG has formed strong friendships with other attendees and he feels seen and heard within the group, something that had been previously taken away from his life with the passing of his wife.

As Mr. AG has continued to attend senior center services and be a consistent, advocative member, staff at the Senior Center invited him to serve on the Advisory Council. Overjoyed with the offer, Mr. AG readily accepted the position and has since been a key figure in the center. Mr. AG believes that his involvement in the Advisory Council shows his opinion on the senior center, the community, and older adult issues matters. By being a member, Mr. AG can advocate for himself and other seniors for necessary services that promote healthy futures, independence, and aging in place.

Transportation Success Story:

BGCAP Executive director Troy Roberts contacted BGCAP Transit in September 2022 on behalf of "A", a 3 year old boy that attended programs for Autism Support at Wilderness Trace Child Development Center and Hogsett Elementary in Danville. His mother was a single parent who left work mid-shift each day to transport "A" between the two programs, as Hogsett Elementary could not provide transportation. His mother received notification from her employer that they would terminate her employment if she continued to leave.

Transportation became the barrier to effective treatment for "A" and gainful employment for his mother. BGCAP Transit worked with the team at Wilderness Trace to secure the needed resources to support the logistical needs of "A"'s family: BGCAP Transit would transport "A" between the 2 programs Monday through Thursday each week. A staff member from Wilderness Trace would serve as the attendant to ensure the care and safety of "A" for his trip each day while his mother stayed at work for the duration of her shift. The Executive Team at BGCAP Secured a car seat for "A" and delivered it to the Danville Bus Garage. The team put the plan into action and began the next school day. The project continued throughout the school year with great success. "A" attended the programs needed to help him thrive, and his mother kept her job.

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