Through providing companionship and comprehensive services, Silver Key Senior Services supports the health and well-being of older adults in El Paso County. King Soopers has supported this organization through the Fight Hunger bag program.
Tell us about Silver Key Senior Services.
Silver Key Senior Services has been in Colorado Springs for 54 years now. Over the years, we have supported older adults throughout El Paso County. We also have a small program in Teller County. Overall, the mission of the organization is to help seniors keep as much independence as they choose proactively and preventatively to ensure a high quality of life.
The roots of the organization are in companionship.
The roots of the organization are in companionship. It started when people with tuberculosis began moving to Colorado Springs for better air quality and available therapeutics. Since many were separated from those who cared about them, a group of volunteers were concerned about the risk of isolation and loneliness during their time in treatment. So, the volunteer corps became companions. This is the history that runs through all of our existing programs today.
What services do you provide to the community?
The services we provide include an activity center, our home-delivered Meals on Wheels, congregate lunches, our food pantry, transportation services, companionship, case management, resource navigation, and information. Many of the people who contact Silver Key know us through what’s called the Silver Line. This is where people come in through an initial entry point to learn what forms of support are available to the older adult population. We help to address those needs internally if we have the appropriate resources, or we refer them to where we believe they will receive the best support.
Regarding our hunger relief efforts, we are the designee for Meals on Wheels in this region. As part of the national program, we deliver meals to older adults who otherwise would have challenges accessing nutritious meals. This program has existed within our organization for many years, as has our Connection Cafe Program. We have 13 Connection Cafes located throughout El Paso County for people to congregate together through a high-quality lunch program.
We also have about 40 vehicles that provide transportation to healthcare services, activity centers, and grocery stores. Additionally, we offer support for people who are grieving a loss through visits to the cemetery.
Over the last several years, we’ve also been moving into housing support. We currently have a 33-unit apartment and are building a 50-unit affordable housing project. Thirteen of these units will be for veterans. More recently, we have restarted our home modification program to provide grab bars and adaptive equipment to keep people independent and in their homes for as long as possible.
What sets Silver Key Senior Services apart from other hunger organizations in your community?
What’s unique about Silver Key is the dependence we have on volunteers. We currently have more than 400 active volunteers. Our volunteer core is how we can meet the needs of our community. With the support of our volunteers, we can address food insecurity in numerous ways depending on what each senior needs. Some seniors visit our pantry, others enjoy a meal with friends at one of our Connection Cafés, while seniors who are homebound desire a home-delivered meal from a friendly volunteer.
Going back to our history of companionship, part of what it means to work with older adult populations is that there will be a time when we may have a loss of life. Even at the end of life, families will often include in the obituaries what a difference an individual driver or a volunteer for our Meals on Wheels program made in that person’s life. This connection is the core of who we are.
Please tell us a story that illustrates the good work of your organization.
There is one story in particular about a woman who had become houseless. The house she had lived in was part of an affordable housing project, but it was sold to a developer. Since she was on a fixed income, she couldn’t afford the new rent prices and had to leave.
Our organization found out that she was also a veteran. In fact, out of the 11,000 seniors we serve a year, 26% are veterans or spouses of veterans. Through her past work as a military service member, we were able to access additional support for her. Through this, we helped her move from living in her car to finding a place to call home.
We were then able to give food support through our pantry and commodity delivery program. We also registered her for Meals on Wheels. Ultimately, we were able to set the stage for her to become a volunteer at Silver Key.
So, she started as someone in desperate need of support, and we were able to put into play a variety of our services to help her, including our pantry, meal program, case management, and housing options. Her story really highlights what we do at Silver Key.
What is your most outstanding achievement or contribution to the community?
A researcher has shared an interesting theory about how nonprofits adopt the characteristics of the people they serve. I am proud of how Silver Key has really embraced this concept. During the pandemic, we supercharged the culture of our organization by really reflecting on our population.
Outside of hospitals and physician offices, Silver Key was the first organization to be designated as an essential provider at both the city and county levels. Of course, our main concern was that the population we were serving was the most at risk. We wanted to make sure we were still able to provide services.
Outside of hospitals and physician offices, Silver Key was the first organization to be designated as an essential provider at both the city and county levels.
While many would see the people we serve as resource-limited and frail in health, we shifted our thinking to a frame of abundance. When we reflected on the population we serve, we found an intense resilience. They have lived through pandemics and wars. They’re wise in decision-making. There’s also no way you’d be able to be alive and thriving in your 70s, 80s, or 90s without being adaptable. These three characteristics–adaptability, resilience, and wisdom–guided how we moved through the pandemic.
What I’m most proud of is that we didn’t close, not even for one day. On top of that, the news would show retail stores empty of cleaning items and toilet paper. Meanwhile, we had tons of it here because our population had been stockpiling for years, and they just kept donating!
All of this support came directly from the population we serve.
Our organization also started knitting and creating masks for us to wear. We had a production line so strong that we even sourced other nonprofits.
All of this support came directly from the population we serve. It was truly an example of our organization being adaptable, wise, and resilient.
What do you want people to know about your organization?
At Silver Key, we have adopted the Adult Hope Scale (AHS) to demonstrate our community impact. This is a nationally recognized and statistically reliable instrument used to gauge hope. This research behind the scale demonstrates that when someone has a lower degree of hope, they have a higher dependence on emergency rooms and ambulances. On the flip side, if they have a higher degree of hope, they have a lower utilization of hospitals, emergency rooms, and other healthcare systems.
But it’s not just about the good work we do. We are actually able to show that we save taxpayer dollars through our organization.
Through using the Adult Hope Scale as part of our impact assessment, we were able to demonstrate that we are approximately a $5 million company that saves the El Paso County community $25 million that would otherwise be paid by Medicaid and Medicare for unnecessary ambulances and emergency room visits.
Of course, I want people to know that it’s an amazing organization to be part of, which we can clearly demonstrate with the longevity of our volunteers. For example, we have 17 volunteers who have been with us for over 15 years and five who have remained loyal for 25 years. But it’s not just about the good work we do. We are actually able to show that we save taxpayer dollars through our organization.
How are you using the funds you’ve received from the King Soopers Fight Hunger bag program?
Again, we’re thrilled about the partnership. We will use these funds to continue to source our pantry. We’re so grateful for King Soopers, which is one of the partners that makes sure we can provide high-quality, healthy, and nutritious food.
If you’re familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, one of the first basic needs is safe, stable housing and food security. Next is emotional connection. Yet, all of these things flow together, so it is difficult for me to say it is specifically carved out for one piece when it’s all part of our interconnected model of care.
The other detail I would share is that we are now able to work in more healthcare systems. As older adults transition out of hospitals, rehab centers or other types of care networks, they come to our organization. From there, we are able to wrap that full range of support around them to help them to transition. I’m thrilled that the organization is an adjunct to the healthcare system. The resources from King Soopers helps us support this connection through the nutrition element.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I would add that we have a couple of upcoming events. First, we have our Senior Sunrise Breakfast at the Marriott on May 10th. The goal of this event is to expand the resources coming into our organization. We also have our Senior Summit on May 16th at the Great Wolf Lodge. This expo of senior services is an opportunity for our community to learn more about the services that are available from Silver Key and other local organizations that serve older adults, support caregivers, and people in need.
Interview with Jason DeaBueno, President and CEO, Silver Key Senior Services.
Published February 23, 2024.