Curious if anyone has had any success with any resources from social services?

"Social services" is a huge umbrella that covers so many things such as domestic violence, substance abuse, elder care, end of life services, abuse, neglect, prisoner reform, discrimination.....on and on it goes.

Say you want to paint a room white. You go to the paint store and ask to buy white paint. Simple enough. But the guy at the paint store asks you if you would like eggshell or linen or ecru or ivory or manila or dove, etc.

Nursing homes have social workers who help residents and their families; hospitals have social workers who deal with any number of things that may come up in the course of a day among patients and/or families; oftentimes churches refer people to social services once the church has given assistance to an individual or a family.

I say "social services" but there are niches to social services. I'm a divorced woman in her late 40's with a chronic illness and a hospital social worker might come and see me in the hospital to find out if I can get to and from my apartment which has 15 steps leading up to my door. If the social worker anticipates I may have problems with these stairs the social worker may discuss physical therapy with my nurse who would pass it on to the doctor who would prescribe a few weeks of PT for me. That's how social services works.

My parents reached a point where they could barely take care of themselves at home. I was running over there everyday because my mom refused to get out of bed and when she did, once a day, she would fall. I finally got her to an emergency room (because the problem was bigger than me) and asked for a social worker. I met the social worker outside my mom's room in the ER and told her what had been going on. She social worker told me she would ensure that my mom was admitted while my dad and I could figure out what to do next. The social worker was a direct line to the doctor but we were able to reach her at any time for assistance unlike the doctor who floated around like a ghost we could never get face time with.

While social workers can set up home services, car services, and therapy they do so much more. They can set up Meals on Wheels, help with a Medicaid application, find a priest or minister in a hospital, direct one to legal services, secure a bed in a nursing home plus many other things and all of these services are free.

When I was caring for my mom and then my dad I availed myself of social services every opportunity I had. If they don't know they know someone who knows. They're full of referrals and they're reachable unlike a doctor or a nurse at a facility or the financial person in a nursing home. A social worker held my hand through every step of the Medicaid process when I was caring for my dad.

Social workers offer social services and when I had the occasion to I always inquired about a social worker as opposed to social services. My doctor's office has a social worker they refer patients to but when asked, denied that they offered social services. But they did! The person I spoke to just didn't realize that the social worker who comes and goes IS the social services.

Basic social services are no charge. But some referrals they may make may cost money.

In the years I spent caring for my parents I always reached out to social workers. They just made my job easier.

I'm wondering how long ago you were assigned social workers. What I have found is that the only possible way to initiate the process of even being assessed for consideration tof a social worker is to call Adult Protective Services, which could potentially make things much worse, or as in your case, possibly if there is an emergency medical situation but the social worker would only be able to help with medical issues and not general care assistance such as home visits, food or meal help, bathing, accessibility, etc.

I would love to know if anyone has recently (within the last six months) been able to find any type assistance through their local Institute on Aging or Human Service Agency for help with the necessary care to elderly, disabled people living at home or assistance that actually helped in managing any of their responsibilities (burdens) when parents aren't truly self-sufficient, but refuse considering Assisted Living or any other option.

I can't even find local support groups for caregivers or referrals to any type of groups or organizations that could be of assistance with figuring anything out.

I make sure to ask for any suggestions for caregivers or even ideas for what to look for every time I actually get a person to speak with.

In some places, APS is the gateway to "social services".

I have been looking for aid for nearly 5 years since my husband suffered a nearly fatal heart infection. I managed to get him on disability without much trouble, but that was it. Last year, he was gone from February through May with mobility issues and is now bedridden and incontinent. Medicare provided us with a bed which is used, that I get rental bills for. It’s truly a piece of junk. We are on our 4th remote for it and I was nastily told, last time it broke, that we would get no more for free.

We get too much from SS to qualify for any help but not enough to live on. We get $15 a month for EBT which is a joke. We are so short on funds this month I don’t know how I’m going to afford food for us until my check comes in a week from Wednesday, and that check is already spent. We owe so many people so much money I’ll never get caught up. Car, house payment, uncovered meds...the list goes on. We can’t sell our house because our credit is in the toilet, not to mention there is so much wrong with the house we couldn’t make enough on the sale to pay our mortgage off much less buy another house. My blood pressure is so high Hubby is scared to death I’ll stroke out.

Why isn’t there help for people like us. Even if there is some help, the waiting lists are so long, wed both be six feet under by the time it came through. Why does, as I’ve posted before, one need to be living under an overpass in a cardboard box with one’s dog on a rope leash before one even gets noticed? There just is no help out there for us.

Ahmijoy, I'm so sorry - I can feel the stress you're under.

I wonder if you haven't received any help because you've been too good at coping? Or, at least, seeming to cope.

When did you last speak to your case worker?

And who's leasing you that crappy bed? You're paying good money for rental. That makes you a customer. That makes you right :) Argue! E.g. look up the manufacturer - there'll be a label and model number on the bed, somewhere, maybe even a customer "care" number. Go to their online contact page and report the problems you've been having with one after another remote breaking down. Ask them if they can explain what's going wrong. (You never know, they might just come and fix it for the sheer PR value.)

Thanks, Countrymouse. Sometimes just need to vent, you know? I think what we’re paying on the bed is what Medicare and supplemental won’t cover, like a deductible. I do plan to call tomorrow to find out what this is, though.

The house is a giant drain in our finances. Not only is the mortgage high, but we also pay a lot rental for the lot it sits on. There is no option for reverse mortgage or home equity. To say I feel trapped is an understatement. I’m calling the management company to see if there’s anyway to renegotiate the loan. It’s worth a try. I tell others to be proactive and I think it’s time I followed my own advice! Thanks again!

That was Gershun's avatar wasn't it? - "take my advice, I'm not using it..."

Me too! Hope you have some luck getting hold of people who will listen, hugs.