Thriving Downtown
A message from our director, Geoff Haag, MPH:
11/1/2023 — Thriving Downtown is coming up on ten years of service assisting low income, at-risk seniors living in the heart of San Diego. Having previously spent fifteen years as a social worker in San Diego nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities, I marveled at the commonality of emergency room recidivism amongst this population. Perhaps unrealistically optimistic, I endeavored to ease the pattern.
Initially, my goal was to go out into the community and build a caseload of hospital frequent fliers by becoming an advocate and personal resource for these folks while they were at home, hoping the extra support would lend to more stability for them. My assistant Dennis and I began to consider ourselves as Senior Life Facilitators as we learned that obstacles that would seem manageable to younger people present significant challenges for our elderly. We’ve worked with a large variety of healthcare caseworkers, social workers and others from organizations assisting downtown seniors. Over the past decade, we’ve been referred to some 700 individuals, many of whom have been followed for years.
One of the needs which quickly emerged as unmet in our city is transportation. Because of this, we primarily spend our time driving our clients to medical appointments and procedures. Often we assist otherwise self-sufficient folks to procedures which require anesthesia (eg. cataracts, colonoscopies, dental work, etc.) as they don’t have family living nearby to accompany them. Aside from medical appointments, another area of need, especially during the throes of COVID, is assistance with grocery shopping. Being able to get to discount stores and shop in bulk can really help stretch a limited income.
Another service we’re happy to provide is assistance with caring for our clients’ pets. By providing occasional trips to the vet or groomer, we ensure that their closest companion’s needs are also met. Whatever the case, we strive to make the lives of our clients a little more manageable and, in that spirit, help reduce trips to the emergency room.
We still accept new referrals with our only requirements being that individuals are at least 60 years old, live in the downtown area (92101 and 92103) and can safely transfer to and from a regular vehicle. Logistically we are much more likely to accommodate needs if we have advanced notice for scheduling purposes (preferably two weeks), but we will always do our best to serve those in need.
This certainly has been an interesting and gratifying decade. We’ve been very fortunate to have the ongoing support of Project High Hopes which enables us to continue our efforts.
Geoff
“It has been a great experience working with an organization that provides ‘high hopes’ to whoever they encounter.”
The most commonly asked questions are “How much do you charge?” or “Which insurance do you work with?” We are generously supported by the nonprofit foundation Project High Hopes and offer our services free-of-charge. Please feel free to contact me if you have somebody in mind who lives in the downtown area who could use a hand.
