A new publication by the Elder Quality of Life Committee will make it easier for Southern Gila County senior citizens to find resources and services. The Elder Quality of Life Committee is one branch of the Quality of Life Task Group of the Economic Development Summit.
“We knew it was very difficult for seniors to reference multiple sources when they were looking for goods and services,” said Yvonne Lees, chairperson of the group. “Our goal in this resource directory was to publish all agencies’ and organizations’ contact information in one booklet to make it much more quick and convenient to find information.”
The directory is printed in easy-to-read Times Roman font with 14 point or larger typeface for elder eyes. There is a list of emergency numbers on page one, followed by a table of contents. Each resource entry is listed in alphabetical order for ease of use.
The directory was assembled by committee member Chris Martin, Director of the Southern Gila County Economic Development Corporation with help from Joanne Zache and other committee personnel.
“This committee has labored very hard on this guide,” said Martin. “It is great to see so many community members from San Carlos, Globe and Miami working together to make this happen.”
The committee plans to update the guide regularly. “We assembled this information from many different sources,” said Joanne Zache. “We know we may have inaccuracies in the book, and we will correct those as we move forward. We also know there may be other resources and contact information that senior citizens want to see added to the directory. We plan to update the guide on a timely basis.”
The guides are available or will be available soon at Cobre Valley Community Hospital, Globe, Miami, and Hayden Senior Centers, Trinity Hospice, Copper Mountain Inn, the Globe Miami Regional Chamber of Commerce, several sites on the San Carlos Apache Reservation, and at Winkelman and Hayden Town Halls.
The Elder Quality of Life Committee is also working with Gila Community College to help solve the critical nursing shortage in Southern Gila County.