ESP and senior services levy help Morrow resident – then and now
Years ago, when Ben’s wife Hazel got sick, he wanted to be the one to care for her.
“Caring for her was my responsibility as a husband,” he said. “And I had to have some help.”
That’s when he called Warren County ESP, a program funded by the Warren County Senior Services Levy.
Since that first call, when he and Hazel began to receive home-delivered meals, ESP has been an important part of Ben’s life.
“My wife was a wonderful cook,” Ben remembered. “On weekends, she cooked large family meals using vegetables we grew in our garden. I’m not much of a cook. She got to where she couldn’t chew food. We had her home-delivered meals pureed.”
Last year, Ben lost Hazel after 61 years of marriage.
Without the home-delivered meals he still receives, Ben admits that he’d be eating out quite often. “When my wife died, I didn’t know a thing about cooking. Now, I don’t have to worry about something to eat.”
Ben also received grab bars in his bathroom through ESP, which provide stability and independence for him and peace of mind for his family.
“Right now, my daughters don’t have to take care of me as much. I can manage more by myself. I know [ESP] would come help me if I needed something.”
“We older adults need all the help we can get,” Ben continued. “There’s lots of things you can’t do…I know a lot of times, people don’t have family around to help them like I do.”
The levy – which is up for renewal this year – supports ESP services for Ben and more than 2,770 other older adults. The current 1.21-mill levy, last approved by voters in 2021, costs taxpayers approximately $22 per $100,000 of home value annually. Without the levy, there is no other funding source and ESP will end. A levy renewal will not raise taxes.
Ben and Hazel worked to support the 2021 levy renewal, and he knows the importance of this year’s renewal.
“I hope this levy passes and they continue to help,” he said. “I’d have to depend on somebody else to come help me. That’d be a problem.”
“Caring for her was my responsibility as a husband,” he said. “And I had to have some help.”
That’s when he called Warren County ESP, a program funded by the Warren County Senior Services Levy.
Since that first call, when he and Hazel began to receive home-delivered meals, ESP has been an important part of Ben’s life.
“My wife was a wonderful cook,” Ben remembered. “On weekends, she cooked large family meals using vegetables we grew in our garden. I’m not much of a cook. She got to where she couldn’t chew food. We had her home-delivered meals pureed.”
Last year, Ben lost Hazel after 61 years of marriage.
Without the home-delivered meals he still receives, Ben admits that he’d be eating out quite often. “When my wife died, I didn’t know a thing about cooking. Now, I don’t have to worry about something to eat.”
Ben also received grab bars in his bathroom through ESP, which provide stability and independence for him and peace of mind for his family.
“Right now, my daughters don’t have to take care of me as much. I can manage more by myself. I know [ESP] would come help me if I needed something.”
“We older adults need all the help we can get,” Ben continued. “There’s lots of things you can’t do…I know a lot of times, people don’t have family around to help them like I do.”
The levy – which is up for renewal this year – supports ESP services for Ben and more than 2,770 other older adults. The current 1.21-mill levy, last approved by voters in 2021, costs taxpayers approximately $22 per $100,000 of home value annually. Without the levy, there is no other funding source and ESP will end. A levy renewal will not raise taxes.
Ben and Hazel worked to support the 2021 levy renewal, and he knows the importance of this year’s renewal.
“I hope this levy passes and they continue to help,” he said. “I’d have to depend on somebody else to come help me. That’d be a problem.”