Aging Services

Aging Services Assistance

Each County provides a number of services for aging individuals. 

• For Cache County, see https://www.cachecounty.gov/senior
• For Salt Lake County, see https://slco.org/aging-adult-services or call 385-468-3200.
• For Summit County, see https://www.summitcounty.org/375/Senior-Citizen-Services or call  435-336-3014.
• For Tooele County, see https://tooelehealth.org/aging-services or call 435-277-2300.
• For Utah County, see https://mountainland.org/aging.
• For Weber County, see https://www.weberhsaging.net

Older adults share an innate desire to maintain their independence and live in the communities in which they have worked and to which they have contributed their entire lives.  Most of them also desire to be self-reliant and to be of continued service to others to the extent possible.  Often older adults need help in various aspects of their lives in order to remain independent and in their own homes.  Formal aging support systems are often not able to meet the needs of many older adults because of restrictive eligibility requirements and continuing budget cuts.  The Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) program is designed to fill this gap in formal aging services and to assist older adults to remain independent.  The mission of NHN is to improve the health, safety and quality of life of older adults living in this community by promoting independent living by means of community partnerships among neighbors, local businesses, and neighborhood organizations.  NHN is available and committed to assist the inner city mission in its efforts to attain and maintain the self-reliance and community service efforts of older residents of Salt Lake Valley.

NHN utilizes a community-building approach to help older adults stay in their homes for as long as possible. In recognition of the gap that exists between formal aging services and everyday needs of older adults, the NHN program provides assessment and care coordination services to community dwelling older adults to help them remain independent in their homes, maintain and improve quality of life, and avoid premature placement in assisted living or skilled nursing facilities.  The program places special emphasis on training students to detect subtle health or environmental risks that may lead to loss of independence if left unattended.  This proactive approach helps older adults avoid falling through the “cracks” of current healthcare or support systems.  NHN program is designed to link older people in need with formal aging services when possible, as well as tapping into valuable resources within informal networks.
NHN strives to enable older adults to reside in the community for as long as possible.  The goals of the program are:

• Provide continuous assessment as well as ongoing support, follow-through, and monitoring to ensure that identified risks or needs are met
• Link older adults with community resources to address unmet needs
• Provide reassurance and opportunities for socialization in an effort to minimize isolation, loneliness, depression, and anxiety
• Bridge the gap between formal aging services and informal community resources by building community through partnerships with diverse neighborhood entities.

Older adults who are referred to NHN from the inner city mission will be assessed to determine their needs.  Then a service plan will be developed for the older adult and the NHN representatives will work with the individual and the inner city mission to determine how to best meet their needs.
Financial support for the NHN program comes from the College of Social Work at the University of Utah, the Church, and a variety of private foundations. Contact Regina, explain the need, and she can provide the appropriate referral.