Share the Spirit: Spectrum Community Services brings valuable help to Tri-Valley seniors

LIVERMORE Marina Sims loves to make pork chops enchiladas quesadillas or a chuck roast at her mobile home in Livermore and enjoys an order of Wendy s chili when she s feeling social and wants to go out with her friends It s a treat because you re going to have french fries Sims noted But she reported I like Mexican food more than anything Lately though cooking at home is getting tougher for Sims who is handicapped and uses a wheelchair to get around Thankfully she is able to rely on Spectrum Society Services Meals On Wheels operation for homebound seniors which provides her with hot and nourishing food each week She has depended on Spectrum for the past two years about the same time her son moved away for work Rain or shine Sims waits in anticipation for her favorite delivery driver Lisa Breton to arrive so that the two can catch up and chat about their lives families and anything else that can bring a smile to their faces Spectrum in fact saved my life Sims declared in the last few days I could have never made it Marina Sims at her home on Tuesday Oct in Livermore Calif Spectrum Group Services delivers hundreds of meals to seniors throughout Alameda County and offers services such as urgency home repairs and fall prevention classes to area members Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Related Articles Trinity Center in Walnut Creek was light at the end of the tunnel for homeless couple Share the Spirit Nonprofit offers enrichment for the neurodivergent Share the Spirit Mercy Brown Bag Plan delivers seniors fitness and hope Share the Spirit An East Oakland teen s grades plummeted during COVID Then he met a soccer coach Bay Area nonprofit develops teachers amid Bay Area educator shortage Breton and other supporters who drive the food daily from a hospital kitchen at Stanford s Valley Memorial Center in Livermore pack specialized containers into their own vehicles and trip year-round throughout the Tri-Valley area Mondays through Fridays Over the past couple of years Breton and Sims have formed a friendly relationship Breton s parents regularly received Meals on Wheels when they were seniors and she noted she signed up as a volunteer to help pay back the favor People need to eat Breton disclosed Specific people really have nobody There s such a need With about helpers per week Spectrum serves about people through different routes between Livermore Pleasanton and particular limited parts of Dublin Breton is in charge of about seniors meals several days a week A fan favorite is the roast turkey with mashed sweet potatoes she announced There s just chosen amazing people that we serve she commented But Spectrum s clients often face a great number of challenges of aging at home something that supporters often come face-to-face with when they deliver meals Chosen of them are lonely They want to talk to you Spectrum provides other services to seniors all over Alameda County including meals for seniors who are still independently mobile training and exercise classes to help prevent falls utility bill payment assistance for low-income residents and families and services to help low-income residents get more cost-effective energy-saving home upgrades Spectrum Society Services volunteer Lisa Breton right visits with Marina Sims at her home on Tuesday Oct in Livermore Calif Spectrum Society Services delivers hundreds of meals to seniors throughout Alameda County and offers services such as crisis home repairs and fall prevention classes to district members Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group In addition to meals Spectrum helped Sims get a new water heater and clean up her yard Seeing friendly faces daily from Spectrum also brings companionship All my life I ve given to everybody and volunteered Sims stated The good Lord must have known that sometime in my life I might need something Spectrum regularly accepts donations for seniors birthdays and holidays such as Christmas and Mother s Day to distribute to its clients throughout the year Each year Sims gets a card on her birthday and Mother s Day her two favorite times of year she commented Seniors often receive care packages too especially around the holidays which can include items such as non-perishable foods flowers and first-aid kits or other home supplies Carrie Oldes Spectrum s Meals on Wheels project manager explained around Christmas time seniors sometimes request things such as vacuums or new mattresses But throughout the year Oldes says there s one thing that keeps Spectrum working with seniors The crux of the campaign is that one-on-one time commented Oldes who grew up around the Tri-Valley and Livermore She started working with Spectrum eight years ago shortly after her mother died Oldes reported it is special to get to serve her society and she is sometimes reminded of her mother through experiences with her senior clients We perpetually try to say If it were my mom or my dad what could they need Oldes explained I ll continue to try to give as much as we can Spectrum Neighborhood Services volunteer Lisa Breton places food items in the kitchen of Marina Sims home on Tuesday Oct in Livermore Calif Spectrum Locality Services delivers hundreds of meals to seniors throughout Alameda County and offers services such as exigency home repairs and fall prevention classes to group members Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group ABOUT SHARE THE SPIRIT Share the Spirit is a c nonprofit organization operated by the East Bay Times Bay Area News Group Since Share the Spirit has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them HOW TO HELP Donations to Spectrum Society Services will provide about home-delivered meals to low-income homebound seniors in the Tri-Valley area offering them nutrition human contact and a way to stretch their budgets farther to pay for things like housing and medications Goal HOW TO GIVE Donate at sharethespiriteastbay org donate or by mail using this form Donations are tax deductible ONLINE EXTRA Read other Share the Spirit stories view photos and video at sharethespiriteastbay org