Our featured provider this month, Heart2Heart Outreach of South Florida is a non-profit organization offering Community Services, Outreach & Resources for the aging community. Heart2Heart mobilizes volunteers to C.A.R.E. (Connect, Advocate, Respond, and Engage), providing hope, sharing love, and restoring purpose to the aging community who experience loneliness and isolation.
Since 2010, Heart2Heart has been partnering with other businesses and churches in the community, offering resources and isolation visits to those who need them.
C.A.R.E. Tech Program Impact in the Senior Community
Heart2Heart’s volunteers have impacted the lives of isolated seniors in nursing homes throughout the years by providing activities, supplies, and care visits to seniors who have no family or support.
During the pandemic, Heart2Heart had an opportunity to bring 158 Amazon Fire Tablets to over 15 centers to connect the residents to their families, or even to Heart2Heart volunteers if they lacked family. Because many centers were closed and no one could enter, the impact these devices made was unforgettable as they allowed residents to remain connected with loved ones and added value to their lives.
At the end of 2021, Heart2Heart received a large grant to purchase 250 iPads for their C.A.R.E. Tech Program – these iPads will be distributed to 40 care centers throughout Broward County with the intention to facilitate virtual visits with volunteers in addition to other resources pre-loaded into the devices.
Connecting Care Center Residents to Their Loved Ones
Heart2Heart has successfully connected their clients/residents who reside in a care center to their families, which prevents further isolation and loneliness in the individual.
Here is a personal testimonial from Allie Eubanks – a life enrichment coordinator at one of the care centers that received the tablets – she told Heart2Heart how she introduced the tablets to the residents. One woman, in particular, had visited her daughter, who lived in a group home facility, once a week without fail for the last 20 years. However, during the pandemic, she was cut off from those visits and didn’t see her daughter for a whole year.
Allie coordinated with the other center and arranged a video call between mother and daughter.
“When I told her, she burst into tears,” Allie wrote. “Upon arriving at her apartment to start the chat, I was greeted with the biggest smile I have ever seen. She was so anxious and excited to see her baby girl.”
Person-Centered Care in Broward County, FL
Hearts2Heart empowers people to take charge of their own lives rather than being passive recipients of general services. Doing this allows them to cater resources to the needs of those we serve.
For 2022, Heart2Heart has started a new Relief C.A.R.E. program to prevent caregiver burnout. Relief Companions will visit clients one or more times weekly and provide two to five hours of respite care to support caregivers of less fortunate seniors in need.
Heart2Heart will launch an innovative Food for Hope program at the end of May for seniors in need in partnership with Offerdahl’s Hand-Off Foundation. Trained volunteers will be delivering five meals a week to 50 Broward County, the meals will be nutritious and healthy; these volunteers will also visit with the seniors as they make the delivery. Their goal is to decrease hunger and isolation at the same time, amongst the aging community.
For more information on Heart2Heart, please contact:
Juan Gallo – Executive Director
Riana Samaroo – Community Relations Director
954-315-2218
2701 W. Cypress Creek Rd, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33309