Human services provided by town departments and private organizations make a meaningful impact on the lives of community residents.  

Council on Aging Emergency Assistance Fund

In the five years between FY14 and FY18, the Emergency Assistance Fund has:

• Prevented 10 evictions, including households with elders with disabilities, mothers with young children, and others
• Paid utility bills/fill empty oil tanks for 13 residents to prevent shut-off in the middle of winter
• Paid overdue medical bills or bought medical equipment, including a specialized wheelchair and shoes that enabled a resident to walk
• Assisted two older residents with Lincoln property taxes

In each case, we not only provide financial support, but also ongoing counseling, sometimes for years, to enable the resident to become self-sustaining.  We have very few residents who need to come back to the Emergency Assistance Fund a second time.

Town of Lincoln Public Health Nurse

During the seven years we have held wellness clinics at Lincoln Woods and elsewhere in town, our nurse has, besides conducting hundreds of blood pressure checks and offering hundreds of hours of wellness counseling:

• Averted a potential suicide
• Made several reports to Minuteman Senior Services for elder abuse, neglect, or self-neglect
• Prevented potential fatal medical overdoses when she discovered that two different doctors had prescribed the same medication under different names
• Referred several people to their physician or urgent care for dangerously high BP putting them at risk for stroke
• Identified residents in atrial fibrillation putting them in grave danger for a cardiovascular event such as a stroke
• Referred many older residents to their physician with low blood pressure, putting them at risk for falls
• Identified a number of residents with severe depression and referred them for mental health treatment

St. Vincent de Paul Society

• One of our clients worked full time, but didn't get sick leave. When she fractured a bone, she was unable to work for two months. We paid the rent and provided her food, and the client is now back at work and no longer requires support.
• We have supported clients who were scheduled for eviction in a couple of weeks. We covered their rent payments for a month or two, so they and their families had a safe place to live. These clients are now keeping up with their rent payments.
• We have paid electric bills for clients who were scheduled to have their electricity shut off in a couple of days. We have covered car repairs, so the client could get to work and support their family.
• We assisted a mother with a seriously ill child with rent payments for two months, until the mother could go back to work.
• Because of the financial help and support through the food pantry, one of our clients was able to receive a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree. She now earns enough to support herself and her family.