By BERNADETTE LAURITZENThis week, we look to highlight the work of some of our community partners.
Saturday, you can help Mesa To Mesa, an organization that offers free, minor home repairs for low-income individuals and families. The event is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes a sale of 300 plants and tree saplings from perennials, herbs, pond plants, iris, cactus and indoor plants, to ornamental grasses and shrubs.
The funds raised will assist projects like ramp construction, window repair and the purchase of heaters, before the season begins to change.
The hearty sale will take place in the parking lot of the United Church of Los Alamos at 2525 Canyon Road.
Mesa to Mesa is a local non-profit that serves residents living in a radius of 40 miles of Espanola including Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Santa Fe. Its motto is, “From Barranca Mesa to Black Mesa and beyond, we offer home repair from the heart.”
Want to learn more, visit www.mesatomesa.org or call Executive Director Inez at 505.927.2105.
Visiting Nurses is up next with a meet and greet noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17 at its new location. LAVNS has returned to the heart of the community at 109 Central Park Square. Light refreshments will be served noon to 2 p.m., during which time staff will greet visitors and highlight their services. They provide hospice services, skilled nursing care to all ages, physical therapy and home health aides to assist with bathing and showering. Their well-rounded care includes a medical social worker and chaplain services.
They welcome you to come by, meet the staff and ask questions for yourself, a family member or friend. You can visit online at www.lavns.com to learn more. They are a tremendous resource for the LifeLine program. Lifeline is the personal help button that allows many seniors to remain independent, but offers 24 hour, 365 day a year availability to a real life person ready to help.
Parkinson’s has a new group in town, which has had a magnificent response and might be the right group at the right time. The Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Action Group has hosted two meetings to get established, identify facilitators and hone in on what is needed to best support our community.
The group is hosted by Nurses with Heart and has agreed to meet in the central location of the Betty Ehart Senior Center. Their next meeting is 2-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18. The speaker is Jordan Sykes of Abbott/St. Jude Medical. Sykes will discuss their new product for Deep Brain Stimulation. Deep Brain Stimulation is a surgical procedure where implants in the brain have shown to reduce the effects of tremor and dyskinesia. No RSVP needed, but Carolyn is available at 505.424.9099.
