PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The Pasco County nonprofit CARES, or Community Aging & Retirement Services, is asking for donations of small air conditioners and fans or funds to purchase those items for the senior clients they serve.
- At least 20 CARES clients living in extreme heat
- 27 - 29 percent of population of Pasco County aged 60+
- List of donation drop-off points below
- More Pasco County stories
“This is a huge safety issue,” Caseworker Christine Didion said of seniors living in extreme heat with no air conditioning. It’s a reality for at least 20 clients of whom CARES is aware. One of them is Port Richey resident Mary Fornier.
“You can see [Fornier] has her fan and her ceiling fan, but that’s really kind of all the relief she gets,” said Didion.
Didion said Fornier became a client in late June. When she visited her home, she learned Fornier’s central air was broken.
“When you come in here, it feels much more oppressive,” Didion said.
On Wednesday morning, the thermostat in Fornier’s home read 93 degrees.
Didion said Fornier is 88 years old and has no family or friends in the area. She’s on a fixed income and can’t afford to fix her central air or pay for the electric bill following a fix.
Another prohibitively expensive item: air conditioners. Didion began looking into what community resources were available to provide a unit for the woman she calls “Miss Mary.”
After hitting a dead end, she also looked into government funded programs.
“Agencies that do provide those services through federal funds or state funds, they just have a waiting list that’s almost a year long,” she said.
Finally, CARES President and CEO Jemith Rosa organized a collection among employees to raise the $139 needed. Fornier’s new unit was installed Wednesday.
“This is not an isolated case,” said Rosa. “Twenty-seven to twenty-nine percent of the population in Pasco County are seniors of the age 60-plus.”
Rosa said that represents 137,000 seniors living in Pasco County and CARES provides services to a small portion of them.
“There are a lot of Marys out there,” she added.
“As thankful as we are that we were able to raise funds through our agency, through employees, that’s not really sustainable for all of the clients that even we know of that need services, that need some relief in their home through air conditioning or fans or what have you,” said Didion.
Air conditioner and fan donations can be dropped off at any of CARES’s four locations. They are:
- CARES Rao Musunuru M.D. Enrichment Center: 12417 Clock Tower Parkway, Hudson FL, 34667 (financial donations can also be mailed or dropped off here)
- CARES Elfers Center (New Port Richey Senior Center): 4136 Barker Drive, New Port Richey FL, 34652
- CARES Claude Pepper Senior Center (Senior Health Clinic & Adult Day Services): 6640 Van Buren Street, New Port Richey FL 34653
- CARES Crescent Center (Adult Day Care): 13906 Fifth Street, Dade City FL 33525