A slightly worn Larkin Grant greeted me distractedly in the open area of the Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound (CASA) office this past Thursday. As she settled us into a conference room shared with other tenants of the United Way building for a little privacy, she smiled, shrugged and said, “Some days get a little hectic around here.”  My guess is that it got hectic enough to completely forget about our pending interview, but she didn’t bow out.

Animation appeared once we started talking about the growing needs in our community for home bound assistance. Larkin can and did rattle off statistics and projections that would intimidate the less than committed non-profit worker. CASA’s three permanent and four part-time staff serve as one of only two major providers of assistance to Madison County aged and home bound, lending a helping hand to almost 1,400 needy souls. Medicaid Waver, the other provider in the area, maintains 400 slots for all of North Alabama.

Just the facts, ma’am.

In the past two years, the number of Madison County elderly and home bound citizens calling CASA for assistance grew by 31%. Their current number is expected to double in the next ten years as the Madison County population ages. CASA’s average client is 75.4 years old, with an income of $500 per month. 89% of their clients fall below the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty level, and 29% live alone. CASA receives no reimbursement from the Government or insurance agencies. They are 100% funded through grants and private donations and the services they provide are 100% volunteer labor.

Are you nervous, yet?

A little, I think. I ask how the CASA garden is going. That’s the project that I’m most familiar with because I’ve participated in both planting and harvesting events with them over the years. It’s great fun, especially if you sign up with a group of coworkers or help out a school group. 100% of the produce grown in this community garden goes straight to local home bound who can’t afford fresh produce from a grocery store.

Larkin’s grin gets huge for a moment. She brags on volunteers who have turned the patch of ground just south of the Huntsville Botanical Garden into a year ‘round vegetable producer. She tells me how wonderful it feels to be on the receiving end of all the grateful smiles on delivery day. Three pound sacks of varied produce are delivered to as many people as can be provided for. Then she tilts her head for a second and mentions that she really wishes they could expand the lot size. Not all CASA clients get a bag. There isn’t enough to go around. That fact leads to admitting to just how bad it feels to have to tell the “lucky ones” that they won’t be getting a second bag of vegetables this year.

Aren’t there other local sources of food?

You bet. Madison County is blessed with The Salvation Army, Manna House, and several other local food banks. The only problem is that these services require that you go to the food. Home bound elderly can’t take advantage of these programs. We also have Meals on Wheels. Unfortunately, they have a limited number of slots, they don’t deliver on weekends or holidays, and their routes are restricted. Many of our poor and home bound live out in the County, beyond their reach.

How are the other CASA programs coping?

Despite the efforts of the many wonderful and giving volunteers that power everything that CASA accomplishes, backlogs are growing and waiting lists are getting longer.

CASA is grateful to the many Madison County volunteers who provide:

• Transportation services to and from doctor appointments (some TRAM tickets are purchased for these trips, but they are pricey and have to be kept to a minimum)
• Grab rails and access ramps that allow some elderly a taste of freedom from their home bound interiors.
• Weather proofing for homes to lower heating and cooling bills.
• Visits and telephone calls with elderly that have little to no other human contact in their lives.
• Yearly “be Santa to a senior” packages of treasured and most often requested gifts, including: canned food, deodorant, hand towels, sheets and the occasional heater.
  And much more.

See the CASA website for volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups of all ages. CASA provides the materials for most projects. You do the work.

So grab a hammer, push a wheelbarrow, drive a van, or just sit and talk for a bit to make a home bound person’s life a lot brighter and a bit more dignified. You are needed. Larkin Grant has the numbers, and the callers, to prove it.

Yes, I took the hook again. Sid didn’t call to let me know that he was going to design that special Civilization software for us, so I had to try something else. (See related articles, below.)

Great People with Good Intentions

I enjoyed the Coffee Party meeting that I attended yesterday. There were bright, energetic and caring people initiating civil discourse on a multitude of topics. Most of the attendees agreed with each other on most issues, so that made it a bit easier.

While the Coffee Party itself is non-partisan, I think most attending our Huntsville, Alabama meeting would describe themselves as fitting best with the liberal Democrats – no party was supported in full by anyone, or I don’t think that they would have attended. I would describe myself as most closely resembling a liberal Republican. Needless to say, I was the sole dissenter on a few issues.

Most everyone was very polite when I expressed my opposing views. I was only p’shawed and talked over once. However, the more I think over the discussions, the more I realize that this local chapter of the Coffee Party Movement is not for me.

Civility Doesn’t Equal Non-Partisan

To their credit, they told me that they appreciated my point of view and that they wanted me to speak up when I disagreed with anything. There was no vitriol dispensed, and I loved that everyone understood their issues enough to frame things with personal perspective. I heard not one slogan or one-liner rhetoric spouted as fact.

That was so refreshing that I enjoyed the meeting immensely until I started feeling that the general attitude towards anything that I disagreed with was “you must not understand how it really works.” To me, that translates to “no one would disagree with me if they understood my point of view.” To me that also translates to, “I have no reason to understand your point of view.”

We Need Both to Engender Positive Change

To me, while I much prefer politeness to throat ripping, civility can not be the sole goal if any positive progress is to be made. We need to learn how to work with opposing views instead of dismissing them or “exorcising them from misled individuals for their own good.”

I also think that I take a more boring and pragmatic view of activism than the majority. I appreciate that health care is THE issue of the moment. We’re also talking about a fast growing nationwide organization in the Coffee Party. I could see throwing in your local group’s voice on health care to the message that the lead group is pushing, if your group agrees with it.

However, at this point in the process, I don’t think a local chapter, a newly formed group of diverse viewpoints, can put together any message beyond announcing support of one of the options currently being discussed. No individual member admitted to reading any of them… but health care was voted as the first issue to tackle as a group. I got some weird looks for being the only member to not raise my hand on that one!

The Activist Group I’m Seeking

I would prefer to join a group that takes on issues at the ground floor and tracks them all the way through to implementation. I’d like to see politicians held accountable for their actions (and non-actions). I believe that you can only do that if you can ensure said politicians know of the people’s desires from near beginning. That way, the politician has to address his motives when countering those desires or face a short career.

Then, the group needs to make sure that everyone hears what effort was made and what was implemented – or not – in the end, just as loudly as they heard what was promised at the beginning. The media seldom does that, but a group of caring people could.

Also, if it’s a newly formed group, I would prefer to join one that starts small and local. One that tackles issues with focus and consistency, garners mass cooperation from all available viewpoints, and makes a measurable impact. Hopefully, controlled growth would occur with success and momentum.

Counter messages can outweigh the intentions of the group when you grow too quickly and the group is seen as a handy platform for any passerby with a gripe. Controlled growth would reduce messages like the post on the Coffee Party Movement in Huntsville, AL Facebook page that starts: “The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. The Republicans, and greedy corporations they represent, have pledged their allegiance, not to America, but to money and the Devil!”  (It was not posted by anyone that attended our meeting!)

Can You Help?

I’m hungry to contribute. I make lousy off-the-cuff verbal arguments, but I am great behind the scenes. I don’t have a ton of spare time, but I do have some. I want to join a group with tangible synergy that I would benefit and gain benefit from. Do you know of a group that I would fit, considering my viewpoints and expectations? Please let me know!

Also, please remember when commenting, civility may not be the only thing needed, but it is certainly one required aspect of mutual understanding!

Get ready to participate with your family in Family Volunteer Day on Saturday, November 21st.

What better way could there be to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family? Let’s all remind ourselves of all that we have to be thankful for by performing a service for someone in need.

Make the most out of this bonding experience by putting the spotlight on family members’ individual knowledge and abilities in choosing where to volunteer together this year. Communicate your priorities and compromise as needed to ensure wholehearted group participation.

To make the most of the event, resources for finding opportunities and planning your day of service together are linked below. Learn about what opportunities are available here in the Huntsville, Alabama area and involve the whole family in the discussions to decide what project you want to participate in.

Resources for Family Volunteer Day

The HandsOn Network sponsors Family Volunteer Day. HandsOn Greater Huntsville helps coordinate local volunteer efforts and organizations. Click here for their current volunteer opportunities page.

1-800-Volunteer.org, Huntsville, AL search brings up two pages of opportunities in the local area.

Disney and the Points of Light Institute are the organizations that generate the HandsOn Network. Disney has an interactive webpage dedicated to Family Volunteer Day where families, children and charity organizations can learn how to make the most of Family Volunteer Day. Points of Light Institute manages the Family Cares website, which provides volunteering ideas, projects and resources.