Brannan, staff make wellness check in calls to seniors following closing of centers due to COVID-19

Following the closures of several local senior centers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Councilmember Justin Brannan and staff are making wellness check in calls to hundreds of local senior citizens.

The calls are being made to ensure that seniors are equipped with everything they need to get through the pandemic.

Seniors are asked by Brannan and staff if they need food or medicine, someone to pick up groceries for them, and if they have any questions related to the virus.

“It became clear in early March that many seniors who aren't online may be missing out on important information,” Brannan explained. “We wanted to make sure nobody went hungry or felt like they were forgotten during this time of isolation. We also wanted to make sure seniors were aware of the latest phone scams that have started recently.”

Although many of the calls are non-coronavirus related and deal with local issues such as speed bump requests and noise complaints, Brannan added the importance of reaching out to locals that may not have internet access.

“We must recognize the digital divide is still very real,” he said. “Not everyone is reading my Facebook posts or emails. We need to meet people where they’re at and that means calling seniors directly and checking in on them during this very tough time.”