Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut funding to AmeriCorps — a national program that helps those in need, including homebound seniors.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and other AGs sued the Trump administration and won the release of millions in federal funding. Mayes then met up with one AmeriCorps volunteer and her client in the West Valley.
Vertie Madison, 89, is a petite woman with blondish-white curls. She uses a walker because of her degenerative disc disease — and she’s legally blind.
Vertie has her shopping list out, written in cursive. She hands it to 75-year-old Karen Alexander, who’s pushing the empty Walmart shopping cart.
A usual — and unusual — shopping trip
“First thing on the list is applesauce, applesauce and salt, and graham crackers? Graham crackers. That’s a good choice.”
Karen is a volunteer with Caring Circles, an AmeriCorps program that assists older, homebound adults. Besides Vertie, she supports nine other seniors who need help with doctor’s appointments and grocery runs.
But on this day, Vertie and Karen have an extra set of hands: Mayes is shopping with them.
“Have you noticed the prices going up lately?” Mayes asked.
“Yes,” Vertie said. “But yesterday the eggs were down a dollar or something. I bought eggs.”
“Oh, that was good. OK," Mayes said.
“So, I didn’t see anything else come down,” Vertie said.
The two carry on chatting about the high cost of food — with the exception of those eggs.
“And I told Karen, I said, ‘look at the date on them. Maybe they're old.' Because I couldn't believe that, you know?” Vertie said while laughing.
Vertie is on a fixed income. She lives off Social Security and her late husband’s Coast Guard pension. To fill the gaps, she picks up a food box from St. Mary’s Food Bank once a month.
Aging alone
Vertie is also one of roughly 16 million Americans 65 and older who lives alone. She has four daughters. The closest ones lives in the East Valley.
“She has MS and she's blinder than me, so we can't help each other," Vertie said.
So, two years ago, Vertie called the Area Agency on Aging, where she was connected to Caring Circles — and Karen.
“So almost all of my clients are living on their own,” Karen said. “Their family — either they don't have any family or their families live out of state, so they depend on people like me.”
And hiring someone like Karen to provide non-medical support isn’t cheap. The median cost of a home-health aid in Arizona is $36 an hour, with many companies requiring a minimum of three to five hours per visit.
Vertie said she also wants to stay in her own home.
“I don't like other people in my kitchen,” Vertie said. “So, I think that it would be hard for me.”
She trailed off.
“One of my daughters asked me, ‘Mom, if you meet somebody, would you marry again?’" Vertie recalled. "I said, ‘they probably couldn't live with me.’ I've lived alone too long, you know?”
A precarious safety net
Without a volunteer coming by to help, Vertie would likely have a tough time living alone. That was the case when the Trump administration cut off funding for the AmeriCorps program last spring.
“I think the hardest part was calling all our clients," said Jesse Sandoval, the AmeriCorps director for the Area Agency on Aging in Maricopa County. "We had nearly 450 clients at that time.”
And because it happened on a Friday afternoon, Sandoval said they were calling volunteers and clients over the weekend — some even had appointments that Monday.
Karen was with Vertie at the time.
“When I told her that I wouldn't be able to help her anymore, at first it was like, ‘Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that they cut the program,’" Karen said. "And then she started to panic because she's thinking, ‘Oh, how am I going to get to the grocery store? How am I going to get my medication? How am I going to get to my doctor’s appointment?’”
“I told them about this program, how it means so much to me because I'm legally blind and, it's like, I'm just totally lost without some help."Vertie Madison
Vertie calls Karen a godsend.
“I’ve told her that. 'I don't know what I would do without you. You better not go away again,' because she went away once," Vertie said.
And when that happened, Vertie called Arizona’s two senators — and the White House. She doesn’t know if President Donald Trump got her message. But she did vote for him, which she reminded the staffer who took her call.
“I told them about this program, how it means so much to me because I'm legally blind and, it's like, I'm just totally lost without some help," Vertie said.
Vertie says one time, while AmeriCorps was on pause, she took a cab to her doctor’s appointment. The driver dropped her off at the curb.
“And I'm asking strangers what door to go in and all that. It's not a good thing," Vertie said.
Once, she even walked into the wrong building. Luckily, she found a doctor who helped her find the right place.
After about a half-hour of shopping, Mayes says goodbye to Jesse, Karen and Vertie. Back inside the car, she settles in for the drive back to her office.
“Wow, that was really cool to be able to see exactly what the AmeriCorps program is all about,” Mayes said.
“I've never done that before. And [it was] just really striking when Vertie said that she voted for Donald Trump, but, and also called the White House to complain that they were canceling the program. It was like, well, good for her, first of all. Good for her," she added.
It's unclear how many volunteers nationwide support older adults, but a 2021 report by the Administration for Community Living found that in fiscal year 2019, the economic value of volunteers like Karen was equal to approximately $1.7 billion, a figure that’s likely higher today.
How to get help
Learn more about how to sign up for the AmeriCorps program at aaaphx.org/area-agency-on-aging-programs/americorps/ or the Senior Help Line at 602-264-HELP (4357).
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