Elijiah from NW Senior Disabilities interview with Amanda Smith and Baron Robison - October 7th, 2026

So let's talk about, uh, meals and nutrition, which you had.

What kind of meal services are available, and who can benefit from them?

Um, so yeah, we do have our, our Meals on Wheels program.

Um, and to qualify for that, you have to be sixty years of age or older.

Um, or a lot of times our consumers on the Medicaid, uh, program get qualified as well.

Okay.

And then what kind of support do you guys provide for someone to remain safely independent in their home?

Um, so we, um, have our in-home care services, which is through that long-term care Medicaid services or, um, we have OPI, Oregon Project Independence.

So, um, basically people apply, and then they get-- well, if they qualify, we get a caregiver in their home to help them out, um, so they can stay at home and age in place.

Okay.

And then we also have a home-based meal delivery program.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Where we deliver meals to their home.

Yeah.

Okay.

Awesome.

So you also help connect people with resources beyond the services you deliver.

Why? How does that process work?

Um, so like, like I mentioned earlier, we have our community programs that help fill in, uh, those gaps.

So, uh, those are volunteer-based programs, but they also help, uh, seniors and, and people who are living with disabilities.

So we have our money, money management program, uh, which helps, uh, people, uh, organize their finances to help them avoid paying, um, so they're not, uh, at risk of losing a home.

Uh, we also have Medicare counseling.

A lot of people are transitioning over from Medicaid services to, uh, Medicare, uh, just because their age and health, uh, they qualify for it after X amount of years on Medicare or Medicaid.

And then we have our, our, uh, advisory council, um, where you can advocate, uh, for seniors and people with disabilities, uh, and consult to different councils, uh, SAC, which is Senior, Senior Advisory Council, and then DSAC, which is our Disability Services Advisory Council.

So let's talk about, uh, meals and nutrition, which you had.

What kind of meal services are available, and who can benefit from them?

Um, so yeah, we do have our, our Meals on Wheels program.

Um, and to qualify for that, you have to be sixty years of age or older.

Um, or a lot of times our consumers on the Medicaid, uh, program get qualified as well.

Okay.

And then what kind of support do you guys provide for someone to remain safely independent in their home?

Um, so we, um, have our in-home care services, which is through that long-term care Medicaid services or, um, we have OPI, Oregon Project Independence.

So, um, basically people apply, and then they get-- well, if they qualify, we get a caregiver in their home to help them out, um, so they can stay at home and age in place.

Okay.

And then we also have a home-based meal delivery program.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Where we deliver meals to their home.

Yeah.

Okay.

Awesome.

So you also help connect people with resources beyond the services you deliver.

Why? How does that process work?

Um, so like, like I mentioned earlier, we have our community programs that help fill in, uh, those gaps.

So, uh, those are volunteer-based programs, but they also help, uh, seniors and, and people who are living with disabilities.

So we have our money, money management program, uh, which helps, uh, people, uh, organize their finances to help them avoid paying, um, so they're not, uh, at risk of losing a home.

Uh, we also have Medicare counseling.

A lot of people are transitioning over from Medicaid services to, uh, Medicare, uh, just because their age and health, uh, they qualify for it after X amount of years on Medicare or Medicaid.

And then we have our, our, uh, advisory council, um, where you can advocate, uh, for seniors and people with disabilities, uh, and consult to different councils, uh, SAC, which is Senior, Senior Advisory Council, and then DSAC, which is our Disability Services Advisory Council.