Iona Senior Services

For over 36 years, Iona has provided education, advocacy and high quality community-based programs and services to help people age well and live well. 

The way we came into the lives of sisters Margaret and Grace** is a recent example of Iona’s impact – and yours - in the lives of our community’s most vulnerable seniors. Margaret and Grace shared an apartment in a modest building in the city, and were proudly self-reliant into their nineties. 

When their building manager learned that Margaret had come home very late the night before, all alone and without her sister, he called Iona for help. One of our social workers learned that Grace had been hospitalized after falling on the street.  And worse, Margaret was unable to tell us which hospital was caring for her sister.

An Iona social worker found Grace at a local hospital, recovering from injuries, and by visiting Margaret at home, she found a dire situation – unpaid bills, inadequate heating, and the phone had been disconnected. The sisters had no other family, and without her sister, Margaret was disoriented and had stopped eating.

Iona’s social worker saw to Margaret’s medical care and arranged for guardianship. After several months of intense work on their behalf, the sisters have been reunited and are now living comfortably in the memory care unit of an assisted living home. 

Iona's team of caring professionals help seniors and families navigate some very complex situations.  This year, Iona has received 46% more calls for help as seniors suffer the effects of the economic downturn on top of an existing disability or chronic illness. We’ve been forced, for the first time in our history, to triage and wait-list our subsidized care management assistance. Iona will be there for every person who needs us, but only with your help.   

 

Iona’s decades of service to Washington’s families have taught us well how to best serve our community’s most vulnerable seniors. But we’ve also learned that our community needs Iona more than ever.  Please consider a gift of today so we can serve all who need us.

**Iona respects those we have the privilege to serve.  Names have been changed to protect privacy.

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