Helping Alabama’s Elderly Stay in Their Homes

With the aging of America’s baby boomers, our nation is faced with a unique challenge: What is the best way to care for our elderly?  People are living longer.  We are healthier.  And, we want to remain in the communities.  Yet, families now live in different locales.  Many with relatives states apart.  So, how then does an older person remain active, connected and at home?

Through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) of Princeton, New Jersey, the United Ways of Alabama has become the point agency in the state for a national movement called Faith in Action.  The intent is to develop and sustain community-based networks of volunteers through their respective faith organization, whether a church or an organization affiliated with a specific religion, spend time with seniors.  Volunteers make themselves available to take older folks to doctors’ appointments, check in on them to see that they are well and not lonely, and whatever else they can do to help those who live alone maintain a good quality of life. 

Two previous efforts to establish an ongoing Faith in Action network in Alabama were not successful.  However, UWAL feels confident that this time the program will take root.  “I believe this is something that is necessary and perfectly timed,” says Gary Ravetto, a planning and development consultant retained by the Association, whose members consist of Alabama’s 26 United Ways.  During a speaking engagement at a Faith in Action regional meeting out of state, Mr. Ravetto sat at the airport with the program’s national director, Tom Brown and began talking about the need in Alabama. 

“Tom and I have known each other for sometime,” Ravetto points out.  “However, I was unaware of previous efforts and the desire of RWJ to attempt some type of restart in Alabama.”  Upon his return to Montgomery, Ravetto approached Becky Booker, UWAL Executive Director about the association becoming involved. According to Mr. Ravetto, it made perfect sense for United Way to take this on here.  “UWAL has a proven history serving as a builder of coalitions; and they already had a network of faith-based organizations engaged in their disaster recovery initiatives,” he stressed.  “When Gary approached me, I thought it was an ideal fit,” acknowledged Ms. Booker.  

While the pitch to RWJ and the national office for Faith in Action was not necessarily difficult, according to Mr. Ravetto, the strategy UWAL and he developed took a little longer.  Typically Faith in Action starts by building a network of local faith-based groups, then you train volunteers and finally you go after long term funding.  Instead, the approach was the reverse. 

We spent the first phase talking up the concept among key decision-makers in state government and Alabama’s philanthropic sector,”  Ravetto points out.  “We wanted to make sure they saw the potential and value it had to our state.” 

The result was encouraging enough that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded the United Ways of Alabama a two year start-up grant to build both the community-based network, as well as, secure long term sustaining funds.  “The biggest challenge we have had thus far is deciding what to set as our initial roll-out program,” Ravetto explains.  “Participating organizations see great opportunity to do so many different things. Yet you have to be cautious not to go off in too many directions as once.  Especially in the beginning.

”So, for now the focus is on the needs of the elderly in the Alabama Black Belt and to grow from there.  According to Ms. Booker this ties in nicely with other UWAL initiatives.  She has said, “We are becoming heavily involved in improving lives in those counties.  Addressing the aging population is a missing piece that fits in perfectly.  What a great opportunity for not only the association and its members, but also for the people of our state.”