Testimonials

Our Stories Feedback from People Lifelong Links Assisted

Elderbridge is your local coordinated entry point for LifeLong Links Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs).

LifeLong Links ADRCs are where to call, click or come into for help and get the latest information about any and all programs and services in Iowa that are there to assist older and disabled adults. Our ADRC Options Counselors are friendly and caring. We’re here to help individuals make the best choice for long-term care support and services. Options Counselors have the most up-to-date information about what resources are available and how to access those services.

Options Counselors can also help with planning for issues involving health, finances, legal questions, and family concerns. Just a few of the variety of other decision-making areas that might challenge our older citizens or those who are intellectually or physically challenged.

Elderbridge Agency on Aging’s ADRC is offered in partnership with LifeLong Links. Call (866) 468-7887 or click on the LifeLong Links logo above to go directly to the Iowa LifeLong Links website.

Elderbridge Agency On Aging

LifeLong Links is a relatively new program in the state of Iowa, but already it’s making a positive impact on people’s lives. Here is a trio of testimonials to attest to the help LifeLong Links provided three people who just needed a hand when the hand they were dealt came up short.

Elderbridge Agency On Aging

Karen’s story

It’s a situation many seniors find themselves in. Money for food too often goes for prescriptions or to pay medical bills...

Karen’s story

It’s a situation many seniors find themselves in. Money for food too often goes for prescriptions or to pay medical bills.

Karen Werle of Mason City knew of Elderbridge Agency on Aging from the time her mother needed help 18 years ago. Now, nearly two decades later, Karen found that she was the one who might need a hand, or at least some advice on how to cope with mounting medical bills and a dwindling food budget.

Karen saw an article about LifeLong Links in Renaissance, the monthly Elderbridge newsletter and called right away. An Elderbridge Options Counselor talked to Karen and figured out a course of action that ended up making big, positive changes in her quality of life.

Elderbridge's Options Counselor showed Karen how to get assistance through a Medicare program known as Quimby (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary). She met the income guidelines and now her medical bills are paid and there’s more money left in her Social Security check each month.

Karen also learned about the Share Program for grocery assistance by contacting Kim through LifeLong Links saying “I didn’t even know this program existed and it has helped me tremendously! Kim was also able to get me $30 food vouchers for Farmers Market and that helps me a lot also.”

Karen even got legal help through LifeLong Links and Elderbridge's Option Counselor.  The Options Counselor put her in touch with Iowa Legal Aid and now Karen’s daughter is listed as having her Power of Attorney.

The program to help Karen was there all along. She just needed to know where to turn and to make the call. Now thanks to LifeLong Links and Elderbridge Options Counselor, Karen can eat better by having more money to buy the groceries that she needs for a healthy life.

As a senior, Karen knew that Elderbridge was a place to turn for help. But LifeLong Links is also devoted to assisting Iowa adults who are physically or mentally challenged. Claudia was one such person.

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Elderbridge Agency On Aging

Claudia’s story

Claudia is a 57 year old disabled woman from Mason City. Three times a week she gets Meals on Wheels delivered to her home...

Claudia’s story

Claudia is a 57-year-old disabled woman from Mason City. Three times a week she gets Meals on Wheels delivered to her home. One day, when the Meals on Wheels deliveryman saw her, Claudia looked very pale and weak. Knowing that she was unable to pay for the meals and worried about her, the driver contacted Elderbridge and LifeLong Links.

Claudia had been on Medicaid and SSI for many years after a severe injury as a teenager. With only a $780 income each month, she had fallen behind on her water and electric bills. When an Elderbridge Options Counselor spoke with her, it was learned that Claudia needed assistance, not only financially, but also with food and medical attention.

Through LifeLong Links, Options Counselors were able to find doctors for Claudia, get help with her bills, and had her enter into an agreement for a care plan for long-term assistance.

“I was excited when I got the call from an Elderbridge Options Counselor. Having the help has been a Godsend for me” according to Claudia who has now agreed to do even more for herself. Claudia says she will be making regular visits to her doctor and will go to the food bank for additional meals to keep her nutrition up. “Having my bills paid and food in the house has made my life easier for me. I appreciated all the help that I have received.”

Through LifeLong Links Claudia now gets help from paratransit, Consumer Directed Attendant Care, a local church and Mercy Care Coordinators. Once she meets the goals from her care plan, Claudia should be better able to manage her life on her own.

Both Claudia and Karen were dealing with health issues when Elderbridge through LifeLong Links stepped up to help. That wasn’t the case with Joseph. Healthy and still willing to work to help support himself, Joseph Weiss made a visit to our offices that eventually gave him the breathing room he needed to maintain his independence.

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Elderbridge Agency On Aging

Joseph’s story

Joseph Weiss is 68 years old and recently lost his job. In his former position, Joseph had been driving 70 miles to work...

Joseph’s story

Joseph Weiss is 68 years old and recently lost his job. In his former position, Joseph had been driving 70 miles to work and back each day and was being paid only $9 an hour as a bus driver. After that happened his only income was his Social Security check of $900 per month.

Joseph came to Elderbridge Agency on Aging to ask for help. With no paycheck coming in, Joseph couldn’t pay his electric or water bills. After an interview with a LifeLong Links Options Counselor, they found out that Joseph was working with AARP at Iowa Works to find another job. Now, with help from LifeLong Links and Elderbridge, Joseph was able to pay his utility bill in full and get a little cushion by paying ahead.

Spring is here and that means the heating bill will be going down. Good news for Joseph who also learned he will now get unemployment assistance until he finds another job.

While the help through LifeLong Links may not be a long-term solution for Joseph, it gave him time to recover and the needed boost to get back on his feet and regain his independent life.

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Karen, Claudia and Joseph are just three of hundreds of people who have been helped by LifeLong Links in Iowa. If you think you know someone or that you yourself might need help to keep or restore the ability to live safely at home, please call LifeLong Links at (866) 468-7887.