2012 ANNUAL REPORT - AGING SERVICES

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Narrator: It's a skill Roger Picard picked up as a youngster. Sewing comes natural and making quilts keeps him busy. At 68 years old, quilting is a hobby he can still do after a number of health issues forced him into retirement. He lost his wife a few years ago and was on the brink of suicide. That's when DHS stepped in. 

No Audio: Roger Picard, ADvantage Client

Roger Picard: When you've worked so many years and come to a dead stop, you feel dead (laughs). You know, nothing to do, nothing to care for. And then losing the wife. It finally put me in a state of... three weeks of a coma. My brain just shut down. Doctors said, "You just couldn't take any more." 

Narrator: Roger's first step out of depression was getting a companion - a dog named Yogi. Then he got involved with the DHS ADvantage program. That helped him get the medications he needs. 

Roger Picard: I have severe diabetic and I live on insulin. And a lot of the medications I couldn't get without DHS because my insurance would just cover so much of it. And DHS turns around and picks up the difference. So that's made it more convenient for me. 

Narrator: These days, when he's not at the sewing machine, Roger works in the kitchen of his retirement center. He delivers meals to those who can't get out and was even elected Housing Representative. He says if it wasn't for DHS, it would be hard to survive. 

Roger Picard: They do a lot of good. They do a lot of good. We have a lot of people here. Without DHS they couldn't live. They couldn't live at all because they absolve the biggest amount of problems they have money-wise. Some have to live on food stamps. And so without DHS it would hurt a lot of people. It really would.

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