Congregate meals for senior citizens return to Susanville — noon on Monday and Wednesday at Jensen Hall

Congregate meals for senior citizens — allowing our seniors to mingle and chat and socialize over a meal — have finally returned to Susanville.

Dignity Health, of Redding, will provide the meals at noon on Monday and Wednesday at Jensen Hall at the Lassen County Fairgrounds, 195 Russell St. in Susanville.

Seniors are asked to RSVP for a meal by calling (530) 226-3070. Contributions are welcome, but no senior will be turned away due to an inability to contribute.

Lassen County District 2 Supervisor Gary Bridges (who sits on the PSA2 Executive Board) said the senior food project is funded by PSA2 and disributed through Dignity Health.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Bridges said. “I want to thank Bill Payer (Lassen County Fair manager), he’s worked very hard for it, and Jayson Vial (Lassen County’s Director of Social Services).

He said senior to go meals will no longer be served at the Susanville Assembly of God Church, but he added Dignity Health is working on providing meals in other locations in the county, but those plans have not solidified yet.

Bridges stressed the importance of congregate meals to the mental health of seniors who may not have as much human contact as they’d like.

“I’ll tell you what,” Bridges said, “I was down there a week ago Monday with Tom (Neeley, Lassen County District 3 Supervisor), the first day they delivered, and I’m not kidding you, I had tears in my eyes. Those seniors were so happy. Every one of them thanked us, and it really upsets me it took so long to get it … We had a real issue finding a place to do it, and Bill Payer worked really hard to make it happen at Jensen Hall.”

Tina Kennemore, Lassen County’s program manager of adult services, also played an important role in securing the senior meals in Susanville.

What is the Area Agency on Aging?
According to their website, “Established in 1980, Planning and Service Area 2 Area Agency on Aging (PSA 2 AAA) is a Joint Powers agency providing aging and adult services in Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity counties. As one of 33 planning and service areas in the California Senior Network, each Area Agency is charged with creating a unique system of service delivery which will best meet the specific needs of the older adults and adults with functional impairments within their communities. All area agencies share a common mission of preserving independence, dignity, and choice to enable our populations to ‘age-at-home’ and prevent premature institutionalization.

Our programs
“PSA 2 Area Agency on Aging programs are funded by the Older Americans Act of 1965 through the Administration of Community Living at the federal level and administered by the California Department of Aging. PSA 2 AAA’s primary goal is to advocate for and offer services to the older and disabled adult population in the five county regions. The purpose of the services provided is to help keep this population in their homes with the utmost dignity, respect and independence.

“Services are provided under the guidelines of Title IIIB of the Older Americans Act and include personal care, adult day care, adult day health, case management, assisted transportation, legal assistance, information and assistance, outreach, and long-term care ombudsman. Older Americans Act services focus on the delivery of services to older adults aged 60 and older, as well as adults with disabilities, with priority service to such targeted populations as individuals aged 75 and over, vulnerable, frail, low-income, minority, and isolated. Efforts are also made to advocate for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender (LGBT) older adult communities which face unique challenges in the aging services network.”

Click here to see PSA2’s “Lassen County Adult Services Resource Guide/”