UWAC June 09 Newsletter

	United Way of Anderson County
	GIVE, ADVOCATE, VOLUNTEER.	June 2009 ENEWS

Live United

Ann McRae introduces Project Lifesaver at UWAC annual meeting on May 22 at the Flatwater Event Center.

Project Lifesaver of Anderson County

Ann McRae retired early.

     "I wasn't ready to go home," she said, "but I had a need much greater at home -- my husband."
     The former director of special education for Anderson County schools retired in 1999 - the same year her husband, Pete, was diagnosed with dementia.
     Ann, who chairs the Project Lifesaver Anderson County Committee, shared her husband's story during this year's annual meeting for United Way of Anderson County.
     "Pete loved to walk and get out of the house. ... He loved to walk in the middle of the road, not on the side," she said.
     "I always worried he'd get lost. ... They can get lost while you go to the bathroom," she explained.
     During Pete's struggle with dementia, Ann was his constant caregiver; but she researched ways to provide relief from her constant concern about her husband.
     Together, she and United Way officials talked to Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, Oak Ridge Police Chief David Beams, Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough and others about the program.
     Enthusiasm and support for Project Lifesaver has grown in the last two years. United Way has started a pilot program involving five clients who currently attend the Keystone Elder Day Program at First United Methodist Church.
     "I feel like now I can rest...this is being shouldered by the complete county," Ann said.
     "We expect to add more clients in the coming months," said Steve Whitson, a Project Lifesaver Committee member. Whitson said statistics show that 59% of people with cognitive disabilities will wander, and 72% of those will do so repeatedly.
     Usually when someone with a cognitive disability wanders away from home, searches by law local enforcement agencies cost roughly $15,000, and the average search time is nine hours.
     "Minutes turn into what seems like hours. Hours then turn into days," he said.
     With Project Lifesaver, the costs and search time are greatly reduced.
     "There have been 2,000 missions completed nationwide, with a 100 percent success rate," Whitson said of the program. The average search takes 34.6 minutes, he said.

To learn more about Project Lifesaver, call United Way of Anderson County at (865) 483-8431.

Goodwill

Did you Know that Goodwill is More than Just a Store???

Did you know that Goodwill Industries has more to offer your community than just great deals in their store? Goodwill Industries-Knoxville, Inc. operates 22 retail locations throughout its 15 county service delivery area in order to support its mission of providing job training and rehabilitation services for people with barriers to employment. It is because of the success of the stores that Goodwill can offer a wide variety of job training opportunities to your community.

In today's economy, the need is clear for an organization that can help people brush up on their job skills and also assist individuals in obtaining jobs and ensuring success in the workplace. In 2008, Goodwill Industries-Knoxville, Inc. served more than 3,000 individuals, placing 34 into competitive employment, training 1,989 in community service, and experienced more than 500 positive program closures.

Locally in Anderson County, Goodwill offers several vocational programs; one of the most popular is the Occupational Skills Training (OST) - Self-Paced Applications in a Computer Environment. Through this program, individuals can master all components of the Microsoft Office suite and Quickbooks. For a full list of programs, please visit our website and navigate to the 'programs' page: www.gwiktn.org

For more information about programs available in Anderson County, please visit www.gwiktn.org or call the Employment Training and Rehabilitation Department at 865.481.3571.