Countywide Senior Citizens Services Provided by Non-Profit

By Misty Cryer

Southeast New Mexico Community Action Corporation (SNMCAC) has a Senior Citizen Program that provides services to individuals who are 60 years old or older. The services include a nutrition program and respite centers based in Carlsbad and Artesia, also serving other communities in the county, along with transportation services.

“We do congregate meals, and then we do home-delivered meals,” said Rita Archuleta, Senior Citizen Program Director and CSBG Coordinator for SNMCAC, adding that they are nutritious meals.

She said they put a menu together and have it reviewed and okayed by a dietician, with the meals providing one-third of the daily nutritional requirements. “We serve what the dietician tells us to serve.”

For congregate meals, Archuleta said, “We open our meals from Monday through Friday from 11:30 to 12:30 for people to come and eat with us.” Everybody who is 60 and older is welcome to come and is asked to donate $3 for a meal, she said, adding, “They are not turned away if they can’t pay.” She said that anybody under 60 can eat as well, but they have to pay $9.

In the meals program, Archuleta said SNMCAC offers transportation, picking up people who are unable to drive. “We’ll pick them up and bring them to the meal site for congregate, and then we’ll take them home once it’s over,” she said.

About the home-delivered meals service, Archuleta said, “We take care of homebound individuals who are not able to leave their home,” explaining that these clients are not physically able to come to congregate. “We take hot meals to them, and we take frozen evening meals and weekend (meals), for those that ask for it,” she said.

Currently, the program operates two adult respite centers, one in Artesia and one in Carlsbad. Archuleta explained that these centers are open for caregivers to bring the person they are taking care of to stay at the center, giving them the chance to work or do what they need to do. The centers, she said, are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Adult Respite Center in Artesia was closed for a while, said Archuleta. “We’ve got it back open, and we have three people over there.” She said that the Carlsbad center is currently serving three clients with a fourth one starting. “We hope to see more growth in adult respite going forward,” she said.

The Senior Citizens Program is funded through a non-metro grant, which is made up of federal and state funding, said Archuleta, adding that they also go out for other grants to cover the shortfall that the program doesn’t cover. She mentioned that they have received Chevron grants to support the program, along with having local partnerships with entities like the United Way, the Carlsbad Foundation, and the City of Carlsbad. “Without them, we couldn’t make this work,” she said.

While normally located in the Alejandro Ruiz Senior Center at 120 Kircher St., Archuleta said they moved to the new senior center at 401 Cascade Ave. (which is across from the adult respite) while the Kircher Street location is being remodeled. “We are going to be there probably about six to seven months,” she said.

For congregate meals, Archuleta said that eligible people can go to the meal site and sign up. “If they are not already registered, they can eat the day they go; they just have to sign their name on a piece of paper, and we’ll get them later and register them,” she said.

To sign up for home-delivered meals in Carlsbad, Roseanne Martinez can be reached by phone at 575-200-5898. “We have to do an assessment, and then we can start to get them added to the route,” said Archuleta.

For all services, Archuleta said interested parties are welcome to call her at 575-689-7956.

While it seems everybody pays attention to the kids, Archuleta said, “We’ve got seniors who need the same kind of attention.” She said while some may be a little grumpy from time to time, seniors have the biggest hearts. “I just love it. It’s like doing God’s work.”

Disclosure: The author previously served as Senior Citizen Program Director for SNMCAC.