Regardless of the weather or time of year, people throughout this area always manage to spread a little sunshine throughout their communities with their compassionate and loving ways. The residents of Richfield Springs and the surrounding areas pride themselves on the strong sense of community they share. Red Hat Ladies, Lions and Lioness clubs, Chamber of Commerce, school functions, Vets associations, PTOs, even Santa Anonymous spend a great deal of effort and time to pull these communities together. And they should be applauded for this effort. School children, needy children, business owners, parents, teachers, veterans, people suffering illnesses, people needing clothing, you name it, they are cared for all in the name of community. However, there is at least one group of community within the larger community that is sadly overlooked. It’s the elderly living in the Welcome Home Adult Home on Main Street in Richfield Springs. Adult homes are a common sight in many communities. They provide a haven for the elderly who can’t live on their own any more, either for physical or mental health reasons or the physical limitations of an aging body. Adult homes caring for elderly loved ones also provide relief for family members who are unable to care for their elderly relatives. In an ideal world, the elderly would be placed in the community where they lived prior to the move. In an ideal world their sons and daughters, grandchildren, nieces or nephews would visit regularly, for more than just five minutes. They would be remembered on weekends, maybe after school or work, on holidays. On their birthdays. They would receive holiday presents and birthday presents, and maybe even presents just to say “I’m thinking about you.” Their bedroom walls would be adorned with photographs of the latest births, of their granddaughter’s art project, their great grandson’s spelling test that he aced with a 100 percent. But this isn’t a perfect world. And all the clubs listed above know this isn’t a perfect world, which is why they do what they do – care for people, help the needy, spread a little love and compassion. This holiday season the folks at Welcome Home, and probably the other adult and group homes in the area, are going to face a lot of lonely hours. Lonely hours with nothing but bittersweet memories of a happier time will be all they have to keep them company besides one another and the staff members dedicated to making their final years as comfortable as possible. Maybe the community needs to remember that senior citizens were once active, contributing members of someone’s community-maybe not Richfield Springs, maybe they lived in Cherry Valley, or Cooperstown, or West Winfield. The point is that they are now a part of this community. They are now a community within the community that needs to be considered and remembered. This holiday season take the time to organize a gift drive, or do some baking for the seniors who spend much of their time wondering what happened to their lives. There are plenty of needy people out there, people overlooked because they are in a setting that from all appearances seems to be providing everything they need. And they do for the most part. But there is always a but. The thing they lack most is flesh and blood family telling them that they haven’t been forgotten or tossed out with the trash. They lack someone, other than paid staffers, telling them they are worthy, and loved. For those without family in the area, maybe the community could pitch in and show these seniors they are important, they do count. As these seniors face the twilight of their lives, don’t they deserve a little sunshine, too?
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