enhanceChore

Area seniors and ESR consumers will benefit from a new working relationship that enhances and expands the agency's Chore Services program.

ESR and Community Thread of Stillwater will work together to offer an enhanced Chore Services program to help low-income seniors with home maintenance tasks. ESR has operated its Chore Services program since 2006, staffing its crews with the adults with developmental disabilities it serves. Community Thread uses volunteers to provide some of the same services.

What Community Thread has that ESR does not is a list of what they call Preferred Providers. These volunteers have specialized skills like plumbing or electrical work that goes beyond the scope of the normal tasks performed by Chore Services volunteers. Under the new collaboration, Community Thread will step in to address problems that are beyond the abilities of ESR's Chore Service crews.

"The individuals with disabilities we serve are hard workers and very capable of mowing the lawn, shoveling snow and completing a variety of household cleaning tasks for seniors in the program, said John Watters, one of two ESR staff members coordinating Chore Services. "What we have struggled with is finding the expertise needed to go beyond these basic services. This is where Community Thread can help."

Community Thread works to promote, support and encourage volunteerism to serve the needs of the community. The agency connects to seniors, many of whom are low income, through its Senior Center programs in Stillwater and Bayport; a Holiday Bureau program and a transportation program that provides rides to medical appointments.

Learn more about Chore Services by calling ESR at 651-351-0190, ext. 14, or Community Thread at 651-439-7434.