Jackson Free Press

If you are a senior and would like to find out more about the Senior Services Division, or are a member of a church or organization interested in delivering meals, call Michael Raff at 960-0335. Also, if you are a senior citizen who needs to use the transportation service, call 960-0425 at least two days before the pick up.

The City of Jackson is gaining a reputation as a good place for senior citizens to work. The Senior Citizens of America has named the city of Jackson's Senior Services Division employment program one of the top five in the country. This group has partnered with the city program to help find jobs for people over age 55 interested in working at different nonprofits.

Melvin Anderson, the director of Human and Cultural Services, said that part of the city's mission is to ensure the quality of life of its citizens. "That is what we do here at the Department of Human and Cultural Services. Through the Senior Services Division we are able to serve the quality needs of the seniors citizens of our city."

The employment program has brought nearly 30 of the 70 applicants from unemployment to employment in the last year. "This was one of the fastest and largest turnarounds from unsubsidized to subsidized employment. That is why we were put in the top five," said Michael Raff, director of the Senior Services Division.

The division started with 57 slots open at nonprofits to qualified and interested candidates. Then the division went through the process of matching the candidate with a job that was compatible to the candidate's interests and qualifications. The employee works up to 20 hours a week. "For those seniors who did not finish high school, we provide a GED program. It is all about getting these citizens educated and keeping them active," Anderson said.

The employment program is just one of a number of services to seniors that the division has provided. There are seven senior centers in the city, one in each ward, supervised from this office.

"These centers have typing classes, Bible study, games and educational workshops or seminars weekly. Also there are three hot meals served each day," Anderson said. In addition to the meals served at the centers, the division also has a program where meals are delivered to the homes of those seniors who are temporarily or permanently disabled. Hot meals can be delivered each day or frozen meals delivered for the week.

"The people who deliver these meals are more than just drivers; they are lifelines for people who might not get a visit from anyone else that day. These drivers form very special relationships with those on their routes," Raff said.

Currently, the center is looking for churches or other organizations with home-meal delivery programs or ones wanting to start a program. We have about 100 people on a waiting list to get meals delivered to them and we need help from some sort of organization," Raff said.

The division also has a transportation system set up for seniors without vehicles or who can no longer drive. "If you contact the transportation office at least two days in advance, they will arrange for someone to pick you up and take you to the store, your doctor's appointments, Wal-mart, or wherever," Raff said.

The Senior Services Division coordinates several recreational events for seniors throughout the year, including the annual fashion show held in December in the center stage of the Jackson Medical Mall. "The seniors from the centers come and wear their best clothes. This is a day for people in the mall and others who come from different places in the city to ooh and ah. It makes the seniors feel really good to be able to show off their stuff," Anderson said.

A Good Timers dance is held at 104 E. Northside Drive every other week. "The dance is done twice a month; the Good Timers, a band trio, provides the music and the people at the center love it," Raff said. Other recreational activities include field trips to historic landmarks in the state, a senior picnic held at Sykes Park, and the State Senior Olympics sponsored in part by the City of Jackson.

If you are a senior and would like to find out more about the Senior Services Division, or are a member of a church or organization interested in delivering meals, call Michael Raff at 960-0335. Also, if you are a senior citizen who needs to use the transportation service, call 960-0425 at least two days before the pick up.