NEWS RELEASE

Grants help aging Minnesotans stay in their homes

Over $9.5 million in new state grants will help aging Minnesotans stay in their homes longer through services such as caregiver support, housekeeping, retrofitting to prevent falls and other assistance.

Live Well at Home grants will go to 45 organizations to support aging Minnesotans. Research shows that people are happier and have better health outcomes when they can live in their homes longer, rather than moving into institutionalized care like nursing homes.

Projects funded in the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ latest round of grants include:

• Updating multiple assisted living units in Crookston to provide better accessibility and safety features for memory care residents.
• Reducing the racial gap in homeownership by preserving homeownership and generational wealth among older adults in Indigenous communities and communities of color.
• Expanding caregiver services in five west metro counties, including underserved Scott and Carver counties, with additional support in Hennepin, Sherburne and Wright counties.

“These grants are critical to the well-being of aging Minnesotans and the organizations that support them,” said Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead. “Not only do most people prefer to stay in their homes as long as possible, but the services funded by the grants are also cost-effective and deliver better health outcomes.”

Grantees are listed below, grouped by region.

Northern Minnesota

• Access North Center for Independent Living, Hibbing, $271,000. The project will help older adults with accessible entrances and improved accessibility throughout their homes. Access North also facilitates tub cuts, grab bars and other accessibility accommodations.
• Age Well Arrowhead, Duluth, $160,000. This project will address disparities in access to home and community-based services by expanding access to rural locations and closing service gaps. Services include homemaker, in-home respite care and transportation.
• Aitkin County CARE, Aitkin, $54,000. The grant will help older and disabled adults stay in their homes by assessing their need for help. Funds will also go toward emergency respite care, a chore program and food delivery, among other types of assistance.
• ANGELS, McGregor, $27,000. The grant will fund repairs to the administrative office, activity center and community-supported thrift shop. The facility enables older adults to gather, learn, socialize and share meals.
• Cook County Public Health, Grand Marais, $39,000. The project will address a current transportation gap by purchasing a lift-equipped, mobility accessible vehicle to share with other agencies. The vehicle will help older residents access care for physical, mental and chemical health needs by offering transportation to appointments.
• ElderCircle, Grand Rapids, $138,000. ElderCircle will expand a resource and referral network to increase access to supportive services for older adults. In partnership with the YMCA, ElderCircle will facilitate activities to encourage older adults to participate. One activity uses technology to create games that help the cognitively impaired.
• Interfaith Volunteers, Deerwood, $59,000. Interfaith will expand current services that help older residents who are lonely or isolated, providing access to transportation and home modification services needed in rural Minnesota.
• North Shore Area Partners, Silver Bay, $110,000. North Shore Area Partners will expand their licensed home care program, which provides homemaking and personal care assistance. They will add integrated support services for the caregivers of older adults.
• Volunteer Services of Carlton County, Carlton, $192,000. The grant will help rebuild programs closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds will go toward restoring assisted transportation, DayBreak Group Respite, caregiver counseling and education, chore services, and health and wellness programs back to their pre-COVID status.

Northwest Minnesota

• Barnesville Area Helpers, Barnesville, $55,000. The grant will fund caregiver support, health education and promotion, and transportation. The program serves as a resource on aging for a 343-square-mile area in west central Minnesota.
• Villa St. Vincent/Benedictine Living Community, Crookston, $107,000. The project will fund improvements to entrance/exits and kitchen accessibility for four assisted living units. Infrastructure will improve care for those with dementia and physical disabilities, with a door alarm to prevent accidental elopement.
• Warren SOS, Warren, $52,000. The project will expand volunteer support and services to older residents, no matter their income. Warren SOS provides preventive health alternatives, healthy living, health/exercise classes, volunteer services, transportation, friendly visits, check-ins, respite volunteer caregiver and chore companion services.
• Western Prairie Human Services, Glenwood, $63,000. This organization will enhance the continuum of care and close service gaps by launching a “Memory Makers Group Respite” program. They will develop memory maker kits and provide caregiver and dementia training for professionals.

Southern Minnesota

• Ecumen, St. Peter, $140,000. Funding will support vehicle upgrades and repairs, ongoing vehicle operating expenses, staff wages, training, participant activities and community excursion costs to transport people to an expanded facility.
• La Crescent Area Healthy Community Partnership, La Crescent, $120,000. The grant will support the Neighbors in Action program, serving older adults and their caregivers in rural Houston County. The partnership will also expand services into four rural communities in Fillmore and Winona counties.
• Three Rivers Community Action, Zumbrota, $159,000. Grant funds will enhance older adult programming to provide new long-term supports and services including homemaker, chore, and respite while also expanding the volunteer transportation program.

Twin Cities

• Affinity Residential Care, Bloomington, $76,000. Funding will support staffing for culturally specific respite care for African American and Indigenous Minnesotans outside of residential settings. Goals include reducing burnout and relieving caregivers while delaying the need for emergency care.
• Age Well at Home, Minneapolis, $173,000. Renovations and modifications will create a safe, healthy environment so older homeowners can thrive in the homes and communities they love. The project aims to preserve home ownership and generational wealth.
• Benedictine Senior Living at Steeple Pointe, Osseo, $235,000. The project will significantly improve accessibility by expanding kitchen and dining spaces in the memory care unit, adding a common area and replacing 20 showers.
• Cerenity Senior Care Humboldt, St. Paul, $290,000. Plans include repairing the roof over the dining and recreation room and upgrading 80 apartments with cabinets with microwaves and refrigerators.
• Cerenity Senior Care, White Bear Lake, $350,000. To support older adults aging in place, funds will go toward renovating 10 assisted living apartments. The focus will be on safety, independence, accessibility, autonomy and comfort for older adults to live independently longer.
• Community Thread, Stillwater, $36,000. Direct support services including transportation and home chore services will expand to residents in northern Washington County. The grant will also enable the organization to grow its volunteer base and regional partnerships.
• DARTS, West St. Paul, $57,000. This project supports older adults to remain in their homes as long as possible and supports people caring for older adults. DARTS volunteers, staff and contractors will perform chore services such as lawn mowing and snow shoveling.
• East Side Elders, St. Paul, $60,000. East Side Elders uses wellness education, monitoring and assistance to prevent premature hospital or nursing home placement; social interaction to break the cycle of isolation; and learning, exercise and in-home chore services for older adults to stay in their home of choice as long as possible.
• East Side Neighborhood Services, Minneapolis, $249,000. Activities and transportation help older adults engage with others, better manage chronic conditions and have opportunities to learn about technology. The project also includes caregiving support and education services.
• Ebenezer Society Foundation, St. Paul, $184,000. M Health Fairview and Ebenezer Society are renovating St. Joseph’s Hospital to become the Fairview Community Health and Wellness Hub in St. Paul. The Hub will provide wraparound services like mental health and substance use treatment, free food distribution and Ebenezer’s adult day care services.
• Keystone Community Services, St. Paul, $90,000. A pilot project will implement screening referrals for 600 low-income older adults in Ramsey County who rely on Keystone food assistance. Funds will help improve their nutrition, physical activity and social connection.
• Korean Service Center, Minneapolis, $80,000. Funds will help develop a customized certificate training for respite providers. The training program will provide comprehensive caregiver respite training to both professionals and family caregivers.
• Lao Advancement Organization of America, Minneapolis, $60,000. The grant will support a pilot program to introduce tablets into the home, evaluating for better access to information and socialization for caregivers and older adults. Training will be offered to current and new respite volunteers to integrate the use of tablets into respite care.
• Neighborhood Network for Seniors, St. Paul, $60,000. Funds will help resolve barriers that prevent older adults from doing independent activities of daily living and reduce burden and stress for family caregivers. More older adults and caregivers will receive services. The network will recruit more volunteers to provide supportive services.
• NEWTRAX, White Bear Lake, $70,000. Newtrax will use the grant to add circulator loops for older adults in new, more urban communities, responding to interest from multiple communities. Senior circulator loops in the northeastern metro area are decreasing social isolation in a safe, innovative and economic way.
• North East Seniors for Better Living, St. Paul, $109,000. Objectives include expanding outreach to older adults through 350 health promotion and education contacts, providing 1,500 hours of informal support to neighborhood older adults, hosting 48 educational and social gatherings, and delivering 50 hours of memory loss education to older adults and their caregivers.
• Phoenix Cove Adult Day Center, Lakeville, $113,000. The funds will help expand and optimize culturally specific services for Asian elders and their caregivers. The adult day service area will expand to include surrounding south metro counties and rural metro counties. Daily respite care will help support caregivers.
• Rebuilding Together Minnesota, Minneapolis, $156,000. Priorities include increasing the number of low-income older adults who receive home accessibility modifications; expanding outreach to Indigenous communities, communities of color and organizations working with Native American residents; and increasing outreach to veterans and veteran-focused organizations.
• Senior Community Services, Minnetonka, $347,000. The goal is to expand caregiver services in underserved areas of Scott and Carver counties, while providing additional support in Hennepin, Sherburne and Wright counties. The project includes education and outreach on the role of informal caregiving, person-centered caregiver coaching and counseling, information and assistance, and family meeting facilitation.
• START Senior Solutions, Eden Prairie, $85,000. Care coordination and caregiver support services for older adults and family caregivers will expand, as will the reach of older adult outreach workshops. The Respite Friends model will also train more community volunteers to provide respite services for older adults with dementia and their family caregivers.
• Sunset Care, St. Paul, $33,000. Funds will deliver culturally appropriate in-home respite services, aiming to give caregivers a break and alleviate the stress and burden of caregiving. Staff will work with families to provide personalized, culturally appropriate care.
• Volunteers of America, Edina, $167,000. The grant will help establish a coordinated volunteer program to provide chore, respite and transportation services. Other goals include improving the person-centered referral system to be more culturally and geographically responsive, hosting five “Living Well” fairs, and offering individualized case management and guidance.

Central Minnesota

• Aging Services – City of St. Cloud, St. Cloud, $438,000. Community health workers will help navigate long-term services and supports, addressing mental health challenges and concentrating on social and community engagement. A digital care companion pilot will help older adults remain active, engaged and independent.
• Breath of Life Adult Day Service, Brainerd, $59,000. Breath of Life will purchase a wheelchair accessible van, eliminating a barrier to serving people who use wheelchairs.
• Grove City Area C.A.R.E., Grove City, $100,000. An expansion into nearby rural communities will deliver in-home services, health promotions and social activities to reduce social isolation and help older adults live at home. The program provides transportation, Meals on Wheels, companionship, caregiver respite, support groups and other services.
• Helping Hands Outreach, Holdingford, $50,000. By recruiting and training additional volunteers and developing both in-home and out-of-home respite services, the organization will expand their capacity to reach a growing population of older adults and caregivers. The goal is to help them experience quality of life while living independently at home and staying in their rural community, living out a purposeful, vibrant life.
• Horizon Health, Brainerd/Morrison County, $268,000. The grant will go toward a volunteer recruitment campaign and a respite day center. Horizon Health provides chore, homemaker, transportation, caregiver coaching, in-home respite and educational sessions.
• Lower Sioux Indian Community, Morton, $212,000. The grant will help improve elders’ physical wellness by supporting existing resources and adding two new physical health resources. Elders will have opportunities for social interaction twice a week, instead of twice a month. Goals include better nutritional health and less isolation through increased participation in a new elder congregate dining program.
• West Central Minnesota Communities Action, Elbow Lake, $175,000. Chore, homemaking and light maintenance services over a five-county area (Grant, Pope, Stevens, Douglas and Traverse) will include yard clean-up, mowing, snow removal, indoor cleaning and repairs around the house, inside and out.

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