Inside The Senior Alliance: Hearken with Courtney Walsh (Ep 1.37)

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In this episode, Emma Case, Planning and Advocacy Specialist at The Senior Alliance, talks to Courtney Walsh, Program Manager of Hearken at The Senior Alliance. Hearken is an advocacy service that deals with seniors who are feeling social isolation and loneliness and connects them with services that can help. Courtney explains the different services that Hearken can provide, what to look for as identifiers for seniors who may need their services, and how much or how little someone may need from the program. Excellent information for those who need the services, as well as family members and caregivers who may be concerned about their loved ones. www.thesenioralliance.org. Produced by The Senior Alliance and Blazing Kiss Media.

Transcription

Emma Case (00:00):
Welcome to Inside The Senior Alliance, a podcast exploring resources and issues in the field of aging. I’m Emma Case, Planning and Advocacy Specialist at The Senior Alliance, the Area Agency on Aging, serving Western and Southern Wayne County. Joining me today is Courtney Walsh, Hearken Program Manager at The Senior Alliance. Courtney, thank you for joining me.

Courtney Walsh (00:17):
Thank you.

Emma Case (00:18):
Courtney, can you tell me what Hearken is?

Courtney Walsh (00:20):
Yeah, so Hearken is a program that helps people who may be feeling lonely, isolated or struggling with their emotions. It doesn’t depend on how much money you have or whether you have insurance. The participants are assessed every 90 days and called one to two times a month in order to follow up on resources and update your care plan that we’ll create together. Once you reach your goals in the program, you’re considered what we call a graduate. If your situation changes and your plan doesn’t work anymore, you can always come back to the program later. If you ever want to leave the program, you can also do so. The only other criteria we truly have is just being 60 years and up and being able to pass a short eligibility screening that’s 10 questions.

Emma Case (01:06):
So how did Hearken come about at The Senior Alliance? What was the need for Hearken?

Courtney Walsh (01:11):
The information and assistance team at The Senior Alliance was continually receiving all of this feedback from the community prior to the pandemic. That social isolation and loneliness was prevalent and it was a measurable issue. This was leading to information and assistance having to triage and provide a lot of mental health and social isolation resource education. So Hearken was initiated through conversations that began from that among the advisory council at the agency, and through that, a pilot program began to start to utilize tools discussed among the advisory council. With funding we were able to obtain through Michigan Health Endowment Fund and by we, it’s prior to me, Hearken was able to develop the pilot that began with 21 participants through the continual support of Michigan Health Endowment Fund. As of this year, 52 participants outside of the pilot have been served. So with the changing environmental dynamics brought on by the waning of the pandemic, the program delivery process has evolved and become more equipped to service people through a more person-centered lens as things are now.

Emma Case (02:20):
When someone joins the program, what happens?

Courtney Walsh (02:22):
Once an individual screens positively, they are scheduled for an initial assessment with me as the clinician. We go through traditional scales like the PHQ or Patient health questionnaire, the GAD or the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, that one’s a mouthful. And a social determinants of health screening, as well as generalized wellness questions regarding that individual’s physical health. After utilizing these scales, we then develop a wellness recovery action plan or wrap. This action plan helps to structure what kinds of barriers, routines, supports, et cetera, are present in this individual’s life and what changes they may be seeking through the establishment of clear and accomplishable goals. This could be something like, I want mental health services, I want to learn about educational opportunities within my community. I want to attend computer classes, et cetera. These goals are really what is specific to that individual to help improve those skills that we were talking about just a minute ago, as well as their socialization in general. So Hearken offers to provide that supports coordination, resource allocation, program intake facilitation, referrals to internal senior alliance programs, which can be inclusive to services, products and access to education about community resources.

Emma Case (03:52):
How long does a person typically stay in the Hearken program?

Courtney Walsh (03:56):
There’s quite a spectrum. Initially, there was an idea that people could graduate from the program within 90 days since we do an assessment every 90 days. But typically we found it’s just become a spectrum. Some people are going to graduate from the program within 90 days because their only goal was what’s really become a barrier in my life is accessible and affordable transportation. And then getting them linked up with the smart connector and maybe the ADA compliant funding source for that clears that barrier and now they’re fine. Or it’s somebody who wants mental health services and we just reach barrier after barrier because of their insurance and we really have to do some more in-depth triaging to get them there. So the short answer of that is it could be three months, it could be as long as a year, but we like to keep people in the program until we’re able to reach those accomplishable goals that they’ve stated from their initiation in the program.

Emma Case (04:56):
How does someone join Hearken?

Courtney Walsh (04:58):
Hearken can be accessed and joined as simply as contacting our department with our phone number, which is (734) 516-1767. At times there may be a wait list because of the growing popularity of the program and it’s increased exposure, but we will keep those interested in the current timeline for scheduling assessments. All someone needs to know if they want to join Hearken is just to give us a call if they’re a participant in a senior alliance program. We also receive internal referrals from supports coordinators as well. But our phone number is a really good touchstone just for them to get more in-depth information about the program and get linked to it in general.

Emma Case (05:36):
If one of our listeners are thinking about joining Hearken or aren’t sure if this program is right for them or they know someone who might be a good fit, what would you say to them?

Courtney Walsh (05:45):
I would encourage your communities to engage with one another so that they can notice if someone is becoming more reclusive or there’s a notable change within their mood or demeanor. And if that’s outside of their comfort level, encourage your community to contact me. I’m happy to be a resource and touchstone. We’re person-centered and aim to provide assistance to anyone and everyone that is able and willing to receive it. If someone may be interested, I would encourage them to contact our department for discussion about whether this program can suit their needs. We’ll refer them to other programs or resources should Hearken may not be the appropriate choice.

Emma Case (06:22):
Courtney, thanks for joining me on this episode.

Courtney Walsh (06:24):
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

Emma Case (06:25):
If you have any questions about our services or programs The Senior Alliance offers, you can call us at 734-722-2830 or email us at info@thesenioralliance.org. Information about our agency or the programs and services we offer can be found on our website at www.thesenioralliance.org. On Facebook, we can be located by searching for the Senior Alliance. Finally, our Twitter handle is @AAA1C. I’m Emma Case. Thank you for listening to this episode of Inside the Senior Alliance.

Inside The Senior Alliance is a production of The Senior Alliance and Blazing Kiss Media.