Stephanie Bowen visited her mother for the first time in a nursing home for Thanksgiving. And although she was able to take her mom home to be with family for the day, she remembers the residents who didn’t have that luxury.
“Many people were just there for Thanksgiving,” Bowen said. “They didn't go anywhere. They didn't have family visiting them.”
That memory played vividly in Bowen’s head as she began to snip the tags off what will be a "Not Forgotten" bag.
“It's just so meaningful to know that these are going to people who otherwise wouldn't have holidays,” she said.
More than 200 seniors living in seven nursing homes across Rochester will receive large totes filled with donated blankets, stuffed animals, clothing, and hygiene products. It’s part of the Senior Adult Community Engagement Coalition’s holiday initiative geared toward tackling social isolation and loneliness among older adults.
“We have great numbers of older adults in nursing homes, and particularly people of color, whose families have died, friends are gone, and they're left alone,” said Phyllis Jackson, founder of SACE. “We wanted to reach as many as possible in the inner city, because that really is where the need is.”
This is SACE’s third year taking on this project under Common Ground Health, and Jackson said the requests from nursing homes have doubled each year. She said the initiative also manages to restore some sense of hope for the residents.
“By us going in and doing this, maybe that faith that was waning or doubtful, they see maybe God really hasn't forgotten me,” Jackson said.
Bowen, who is a Common Ground Health employee, said projects like Not Forgotten bags benefit everyone.
“It's just as important for the people who are doing the giving as it is for the people who are doing the receiving,” Bowen said.
