GREENFIELD — LifePath has received another $40,000 from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, which it will use to fight hunger and support its clients’ mental health, according to the agency’s executive director.
Barbara Bodzin said LifePath received $121,000 from the foundation, as part of its COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley, last year after the pandemic started. The funding has allowed LifePath to respond to the COVID-19 crisis by providing food and helping Pioneer Valley residents cope with mental health struggles. She said the additional $40,000 will provide further pandemic relief and budget stabilization.
“Working with the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts has been a positive and meaningful experience as we’ve navigated and addressed the COVID crisis and related inequalities, primarily created by age, geography and health status,” Bodzin said. “It’s not lost on us that there are hundreds of worthy nonprofit organizations in the Pioneer Valley, and for LifePath to be viewed as one carrying out a mission that matches the goals of CFWM’s donors, we feel valued.”
LifePath, which serves all of Franklin County, Athol, Petersham, Royalston and Phillipston, provides a range of services to support the independent living of elders and people with disabilities. It also supports caregivers, including grandparents raising grandchildren.
When the pandemic began, the agency, aided by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts funding, moved quickly to adapt its programs, including in-home assistance, meal delivery and social support, to meet the changing needs of its clients in the safest ways possible.
As the pandemic continued, LifePath used some of the funds to purchase and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to home health aides and personal care attendants. It also distributed PPE to its 1,700 clients.
“The pandemic has put those we serve at higher risk for isolation, malnutrition and reduced access to supports, making a vulnerable population even more so,” Bodzin said. “Funding received through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts allows LifePath consumers to live a better life than they might without the support CFWM so generously helps us to provide.”
LifePath has also used some of the money to contact clients and ask about their interest in a special meals program. To date, it has delivered meals to more than 200 people under the age of 60 who didn’t qualify for LifePath’s Meals on Wheels program.
“These consumers were going without proper nutrition due to the loss of some of their home health aides and others helping them in their homes or loss of access to the grocery store due to COVID-19,” Bodzin explained.
For more information about LifePath and its programs, visit lifepathma.org.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.