Berks Encore officials are asking Reading leaders and residents to help raise awareness about its wide range of services available to older adults, saying many people don\u2019t learn about the nonprofit until they face a crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are kind of like this best kept secret,\u201d LuAnn Oatman, president and CEO of Berks Encore, told Reading City Council at a recent meeting. \u201cYou don\u2019t know who we are until something emergent happens in the family, or you find out about us when it\u2019s Medicare time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oatman and Mindy McIntosh, the nonprofit\u2019s director of development, provided council with an overview of the organization\u2019s programs and services, many of which are headquartered at the group\u2019s Reading Senior Center at Ninth and Court streets.<\/p>\n
The center, established in 1974, was the first senior center built in Pennsylvania, Oatman said. It serves adults ages 60 and older, offering meals, wellness programs, Medicare counseling, fitness opportunities and social activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no membership fee to be a part of it,\u201d Oatman said. \u201cWe serve anyone and everyone, provided you\u2019re over the age of 60.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oatman said the Reading Center has become the county\u2019s most diverse senior center, and all staff who interact directly with the public are bilingual.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very proud of how inclusive we are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Beyond serving as a senior center, Berks Encore\u2019s headquarters are the operations base for Berks County\u2019s Meals on Wheels program. The nonprofit runs the program under a subcontract with the county Area Agency on Aging, delivering about 300 meals daily in Reading and between 650 and 700 meals countywide.<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf of those meals come out of the Reading Center,\u201d Oatman said.<\/p>\n
Oatman also discussed upcoming changes to the Meals on Wheels program. Beginning July 1, meals will be supplied by Helping Harvest, which was awarded the county contract to provide the food. Berks Encore will continue delivering meals and providing care management services to participants.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest changes, Oatman said, will be a shift from daily hot meals to frozen meals delivered twice weekly. The new system is intended to improve food safety and give recipients more flexibility in deciding when to eat.<\/p>\n
Oatman said that while she initially worried that less-frequent deliveries would reduce contact with homebound seniors, conversations with Meals on Wheels program administrators across the country convinced her the change reflects evolving preferences among older adults.<\/p>\n
To help address concerns about social isolation, Berks Encore hopes to expand its Friendly Visitor program, which connects volunteers with seniors through home visits or regular phone calls, she said.<\/p>\n
The organization also provides care management services, grocery shopping assistance, health and wellness programs and free Medicare counseling through a team of trained staff and volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do free Medicare counseling, and we do not affiliate with any insurance company,\u201d Oatman said.<\/p>\n
She singled out Medicare counselor Rosa Velez and her volunteers for praise.<\/p>\n
\u201cRosa Velez is amazing,\u201d Oatman said. \u201cShe is a walking fount of knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n
McIntosh noted that during last year\u2019s Medicare open enrollment period, Velez and her volunteer team assisted 731 people and helped them save more than $146,000 on Medicare-related costs.<\/p>\n
The nonprofit\u2019s impact extends well beyond its paid staff. Oatman noted volunteers contributed the equivalent of about $1.2 million worth of service last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always need help,\u201d she said when asked about volunteer recruitment.<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Vanessa Campos and other council members praised the organization\u2019s work, noting they were impressed by both the organization\u2019s impact and its volunteer base.<\/p>\n
Councilman Rafael Nunez said he was surprised to learn about the breadth of services available.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe you exist,\u201d Nunez said. \u201cI really didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The councilman noted his interest in learning more, helping to spread the word and possibly volunteering.<\/p>\n
City Managing Director Jack Gombach said city officials are interested in exploring ways to collaborate with Berks Encore as Reading\u2019s senior population continues to grow.<\/p>\n
Oatman said planning for the needs of older adults will become increasingly important in the years ahead as growth in their numbers outpaces younger generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think, as a nation, we need to be prepared,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fastest growing population in this city over the age of 60 still continues.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Berks Encore officials are asking Reading leaders and residents to help raise awareness about its wide range of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-236617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-essential-reading","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}