Minnesota consistently ranks as one of the top states for providing services and supports to older adults and people with disabilities, according to a national scorecard by AARP.  Helping people live well at home is one of the key reasons. The Minnesota Department of Human Services is building on that track record by awarding $8.6 million in Live Well at Home grants to help older Minnesotans remain in their homes rather than move to nursing homes or other more expensive settings.

• Making homes accessible with ramps
• Offering targeted services to older immigrants and refugees
• Helping with groceries and household chores
• Alleviating depression
• Expanding and supporting networks of volunteer caregivers
• Creating space for tribal elders to offer intergenerational learning.

“Minnesota is a national leader in helping older adults remain in their homes and communities as they age, which is what most people prefer,” said Human Services Commissioner Tony Lourey. “We are grateful to the many organizations that partner with us to improve the lives of older adults throughout the state, and we are pleased to be able to support their efforts, and those of their many dedicated volunteers, with Live Well at Home grants.”

The Live Well at Home program has distributed the state-appropriated grants since 2001.  The latest grant funds are going to 54 organizations, listed below by region.

Central Minnesota

• City of St. Cloud, $73,786 to make necessary upgrades and repair to a commercial kitchen providing dining services to the St. Cloud area.
• Family Pathways, North Branch, $256,980 for volunteer management and to provide caregiver respite and consultation for adults age 65 and older in Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs and Pine counties.
• Grove City Area Care Living at Home Program, $113,707 to expand to the Cosmos area in-home services, health promotions and social activities. 
• Helping Hands Outreach, Holdingford, $85,824 to respond to more older adults requesting services, to recruit and train volunteers and to identify and minimize risk factors that could lead to older adults moving to long-term care settings.
• Horizon Health, Morrison County, $178,470 to hire a care coordinator, increase assessments and provide education aimed at employers and others about services that help people live longer in their homes.
• Senior Community Services, $158,260 to expand caregiver services in Carver County and chore and homemaker services in rural Wright County.
• Wright County Community Action, Maple Lake, $171,510 to expand transportation, homemaker and mobile food shelf services and launch chore services, caregiving consulting and social events.

Northern Minnesota

• Access North, $56,892 for 10 counties in northern Minnesota to provide construction services to give low- to moderate-income homeowners full access to their homes.  
• Age Well Arrowhead, Duluth, $352,000 to increase volunteers to expand grocery delivery, homemaker/companion services, dementia training and employer and community awareness of resources for working caregivers.
• Aitkin County CARE, $54,669 to expand access to in-home caregiver respite services and counseling services across Aitkin County.
• Atwater Area Help for Seniors, Kandiyohi and Meeker counties, $43,189 for caregiver support and services, including respite, homemaker and companion services, chore assistance and transportation as well as service coordination and health promotion.
• Barnesville Area Helpers, $73,326 to expand outreach and recruit new volunteers for its services, which include transportation, health promotion, caregiver support and service coordination.
• City of Warren, $80,891 to expand the program’s services to older adults in Warren, Alvarado and Oslo so they can continue to live in their homes for as long as possible.
• Community Partners, Lake County, $100,000 for transportation, health promotion, chore assistance, homemaker and companion services, service coordination, respite and caregiver support.
• Elder Circle, Grand Rapids, $171,849 to expand support services, including a variety of new technologies that help older adults in Itasca County to live better in their homes and communities.
• Faith in Action for Cass County, $96,640 to improve and expand volunteer recruitment and retention and expand transportation, chore, homemaking, meal delivery and other services.
• Lake and Prairies Community Action Partnership, Moorhead, $220,642 to connect households not receiving public assistance to community resources, to develop transit services for older adults in rural Clay County and to develop a one-stop shop to ensure households have access to services required to maintain healthy, independent lifestyles.
• Lighthouse Center for Vision Loss, Duluth, $246,689 to expand services from the Arrowhead region to north central Minnesota for older adults with vision loss and other older adults.
• Mahube-Otwa Community Action Partnership, Inc., $227,250 to help older adults who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, find and keep safe rental housing in Becker, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Otter Tail and Wadena counties.
• North Shore Area Partners, Silver Bay, $98,770 to expand its housekeeping, chore and transportation services as well as support and respite for family caregivers. 
• Northwoods Caregivers, Bemidji, $45,130 to expand caregiver support into Clearwater County, promote risk management and increase awareness about Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
  
  

Southern Minnesota

• Caregiver Response Effort and Service Team, Fairmont, $80,460 to help 400 people maintain independent, healthy living.
• Family Service, Rochester, $398,102 to expand housekeeping, transportation and home safety visits in Olmstead County.
• Lower Sioux Indian Community, $415,184 to increase elders’ well-being by bringing them together in a new gathering place within a new tribal intergenerational learning center to be built in 2019. 
• Pine Island Area Home Services of Dodge, Goodhue, and Olmsted counties, $61,628 for transportation, health promotion, caregiver support, respite, chore assistance, homemaker and companion services and service coordination.
• Prairie Five Community Action Council, $198,984 for a new Mobile Senior Center to provide health checks, food shelf and other essential services to rural and culturally diverse areas in the region.
• Southwestern Minnesota Opportunity Council, Inc., Worthington, $96,033 to  provide home improvement help, essential furnishings and other services in Murray, Nobles, Pipestone and Rock counties.
• The Salvation Army, Rochester, $62,894 to purchase a wheelchair accessible bus for its Caring Partners Adult Day Center to serve more older adults with physical and cognitive impairments.
• Wellspring Faith in Action, Watonwan County, $80,000 to develop and maintain programs that allow for older adult independence, including exercise, grief support, transportation and light chore services.

Twin Cities metro

• African Community Senior Services, Minneapolis, $128,552 to provide older African immigrants and refugees in the Twin Cities metro area with services to maintain community living to prevent going on public programs or moving to nursing homes and other congregate settings.
• Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, St. Paul, $58,015 for classes, activities and other supports to help people maintain cognitive and physical health, manage dementia and understand their housing options.
• Anoka County Community Action Program, Blaine, $69,511 to add a budget specialist who will provide help to older adults at risk of losing their housing or basic needs due to being unable to manage their finances independently.
• Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, $313,405 to extend the work of three staff serving additional older homeless adults within its Homeless Elders program by providing case management and secure housing in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
• Catholic Eldercare Community Services Corp., Minneapolis, $70,124 to purchase a van and hire a part-time driver to transport people with cognitive loss to its day programs.
• Centro Tyrone Guzman, Minneapolis, $32,551 to make accessibility improvements to the facility’s restrooms, parking lot and entrance and to their website.
• Communidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio, Minneapolis and St. Paul, $59,947 to provide transportation and other services to Latino elders in the East Metro.
• Community Emergency Assistance Program, Inc., $170,000 to provide in-home visits and support to low-income older adults in northern Hennepin County.
• East Side Neighborhood Services, Minneapolis, $380,659 to build a volunteer program, provide caregiver respite with activities and socialization for those receiving care, provide caregiver advocacy programs and education on caregiving.
• Jewish Family Services of St. Paul, $286,363 for a program to alleviate depression in older adults and informal caregivers.
• Keystone Community Services, St. Paul, $51,000 to expand in west Ramsey County with care consultation and care management services that help older adults of all income levels to remain in their own homes and communities.
• Loaves and Fishes, $80,157 to hire a director of advocacy who will serve as an expert on local programming and resources, meet with older adults at 27 Loaves and Fishes dining sites in seven counties, and develop information on resources to be included on the organization’s website.
• Metro Meals on Wheels, $166,326 for technology upgrades that will allow clients and caregivers to order and pay for meals online.
• NorthPointe Health and Wellness Center, Minneapolis, $215,348 for a healthy aging services program that will increase the number of older adults engaging in the center’s services, to develop a home visiting program and to expand the agency’s ability to serve Hmong and Hispanic older adults.
• Sustainable Resource Center, $698,961 for a program to modify Hennepin County residences to create safer and healthier home environments for older adults.
• Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, $433,118 to help older low-income homeowners remain safe in their homes by completing critical repair projects and offering chore services.
• TRUST, Inc., Minneapolis, $39,480 to provide caregiver services, education, grocery delivery and transportation services.
• Vision Loss Resources, Minneapolis and St. Paul, $258,893 to build an outreach program to educate referring professionals, family caregivers and older adults about vision rehabilitation services.
• Mobility 4 All (M4A) and Newtrax, St. Paul, $109,028 to implement an innovative ride-hailing platform that increases mobility for older adults and people with disabilities.
• Oromo Community of Minnesota Elder Healthy Living Program, St. Paul, $189,914 to provide community support services that allow Oromo and other elders to remain safely in their homes with chore, nutrition and transportation services and other supports.
• SEWA AIFW, Minneapolis, $72,004 for new technology to increase support for older Southeast Asians living in the Twin Cities metro area.
• Chinese Social Services, Richfield, $37,230 to expand its programs with an adult day center and home care services.
• North East Seniors for Better Living, St. Paul, $84,021 to increase health promotion, education, service coordination and other services for older adults and caregivers in the neighborhood.
• Neighbor to Neighbor, Becker and Otter Tail counties, $93,060 to prevent nursing home placement by providing transportation, respite, home-delivered meals, exercise classes and household services.
• West Central Minnesota Communities Action Inc., Douglas, Grant, Pope, Stevens and Traverse counties, $170,450 to improve quality and availability of transportation services through a partnership with Rainbow Rider.