Seniors and disabled in America get help feeding their furry friends
If Meals on Wheels didn't deliver donated dog food, Sherry Scott of San Diego says her golden retriever Tootie would be eating the pasta, riblets and veggie wraps meant for her. But thanks to partnerships between the program for low-income seniors and pet groups across the U.S., fewer people and pets are going hungry.
After Meals on Wheels volunteers noticed a growing number of clients giving their food away to their furry friends, they started working with shelters and other pet groups to add free pet food to their meal deliveries. Those programs, relying on donations and volunteers, have continued to grow in popularity as seniors began eating better, staying healthier and worrying less about feeding their pets, one group said.
Meals on Wheels is just one organization serving people who are poor, disabled or elderly, but it has a vast reach. It has teamed up with independently run pet partners in several U.S. states, but how many isn't known, said Jenny Bertolette, spokeswoman for Meals on Wheels Association of America in Alexandria, Virginia.
Partner pet groups will solicit, pick up, pack and get the animal chow to Meals on Wheels or another agency that donates food, volunteers said. Agencies also take pet food to nursing homes, senior centers or community centers. Those who qualify for Meals on Wheels or similar programs are almost always eligible for a free pet food program.
"Pets are so important to our seniors. They are social workers, depression counselors, a lifeline for a lot of them," said Charles Gehring, CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based LifeCare Alliance, a nonprofit providing meals and other services to low-income seniors.
It is common for low-income seniors or people with disabilities to feed their dogs or cats instead of themselves, Gehring said. The nonprofit started a pet food giveaway program five years ago that serves more than 1,000 animals a month. LifeCare Alliance launched the program after taking a survey and learning that many of the Columbus area's seniors had pets. Most were low income, didn't drive and were isolated. Gehring said 70 percent reported not seeing anyone besides their Meals on Wheels driver each week. "The pets are so important to them. But people need to eat what we give them. Pets don't need salisbury steak," Gehring said.
Both Sherry Scott and Timothy Goddard, 34, of Columbus, Ohio, live on just hundreds of U.S. dollars a month. Goddard, who is disabled and has HIV, said if he didn't get free food for his 2-year-old black Lab, Max, he couldn't have a dog at all. "He's my companion. I got no kids, so he's my everything," he said. "We take walks, do everything together."
For Scott, critical food deliveries arrive from Meals on Wheels in San Diego, which partnered with Helen Woodward Animal Center 15 years ago to add pet food drop-offs. Woodward had started one of the first pet food programs in the nation in 1984, called AniMeals, which expanded its reach when the agencies partnered. "Animals provide companionship and love," said Luanne Hinkle, director of development for the San Diego Meals on Wheels. So when Woodward suggested the partnership, "we jumped right in."
幫助美國老年人與殘障人士餵養毛茸茸的朋友
加州聖地牙哥市民雪莉史考特表示，如果「送餐服務」不配送由善心人士所捐贈的狗食，那她的黃金獵犬「土弟」可能就要吃原本是她自己要吃的義大利麵、小塊排骨和蔬菜捲。但是，幸虧有了扶助低收入老年人的計畫，以及全美各地寵物關懷團體這兩者之間的合作，挨餓的人和寵物愈來愈少。
在「送餐服務」志工發覺有愈來愈多的受惠者，將他們的食物拿給寵物吃之後，就開始與動物收容中心和寵物關懷團體合作，在供應餐點之餘，還附加提供寵物飼料。其中一個團體表示，這些仰賴善心捐贈和志工配合的計畫，愈來愈受歡迎。老年人的伙食開始變得更好，身體更健康，同時也較不用去擔心餵養寵物的問題。
「送餐服務」只是一個扶助窮人、殘障人士和老年人的組織，但其據點遍佈廣泛。「美國送餐服務協會」位於維吉尼亞州的亞歷山卓市，其發言人珍妮貝托蕾表示，協會與全美數個州的獨立經營寵物夥伴通力合作，但數目有多少則不得而知。
志工指出，寵物夥伴團體會勸募、收集、包裝並運送寵物飼料至「送餐服務」及其他的食物捐贈機構。這些團體也會將寵物飼料送往養老院、老人中心與社區中心。符合「送餐服務」或其他類似計畫資格的人，往往都有資格成為免費寵物飼料配送計畫的受惠者。
位於俄亥俄州哥倫布市的「生命照護醫療聯盟」，是向低收入老年人提供膳食和其他服務的非營利組織，其執行長查爾斯蓋寧表示：「寵物對老年人來說非常重要，牠們是社工、憂鬱症輔導員，同時也是其中許多人的生命線。」
蓋寧指出，低收入老年人或殘障人士將自己的食物拿去餵貓狗的現象十分常見。這個非營利組織在五年前開始進行寵物飼料配送計畫，每個月有一千多隻的動物因此受惠。「生命照護醫療聯盟」在進行一項調查，並發現哥倫布市內有許多飼養寵物的老年人之後，就開始進行這項計畫。這些老年人大多是低收入戶、不開車外出，且少與外界連繫的獨居者。蓋寧指出，有七成的受訪者表示，除了每週會見到的「送餐服務」司機外，他們完全不與其他人來往。蓋寧說：「寵物對他們來說非常重要，但他們需要吃我們配給他們的食物，寵物並不需要吃索爾斯伯利漢堡排。」
雪莉史考特和卅四歲、住在俄亥俄州哥倫布市的提摩西戈達，每個月都只靠幾百美元過生活。戈達是殘障人士，同時也患有愛滋病。他表示，如果沒有免費的寵物飼料來養活他兩歲大的黑色拉布拉多犬「麥克斯」，他根本就無法養狗。他說：「他是我的伴。我沒有兒女，所以牠就是我的一切。我們會一起散步，什麼事情都會一起做。」
聖地牙哥市「送餐服務」為史考特送上非常重要的餐點，該組織在十五年前開始與海倫伍沃德動物收容中心合作，將寵物飼料送進門。伍沃德動物收容中心在一九八四年創辦全美首項的寵物飼料計畫，稱為「寵物特餐」，在該中心與「送餐服務」攜手合作之後，其服務地區的範圍也變得更廣泛。聖地牙哥市「送餐服務」發展部主任露安亨蔻表示：「寵物提供我們一種陪伴與關愛。」所以當伍沃德動物收容中心建議雙方共同合作時，「我們馬上就答應了。」
資料來源 http://www.chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=4235&pre=1&sub=23
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