Organization working to keep seniors independent hiring in Middletown

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Wesley Community Services will be hosting a spring 2019 Wesley Community Services Job Fair from 10 a.m. Tuesday to fill open positions for meal delivery drivers and specialized transportation drivers.

The event will take place at Wesley’s Middletown facility based in the Christ United Methodist Church. With this Job Fair, Wesley is seeking to strengthen services based out of its Middletown facility.

Wesley Community Services is a local organization only, with full and part-time staff of approximately 85 people focused on delivering essential services that promote the independence of seniors so they may remain in the comfort of their own homes. Key programs include Meals on Wheels, Specialized Transportation, and Independent Living Assistance.

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Headquartered in Cincinnati’s Lower Price Hill, Wesley Community Services provides services to seniors in 13 counties in Southwest Ohio to Northern Kentucky, including Butler, Clark, Greene, and Montgomery counties.

Most of Wesley Community Services’ driver are located in Hamilton County, said Wesley Community Services spokeswoman Kari McLean.

Meals are just one of the services the Butler County Elderly Services Program offers. Other services include items like transportation and emergency monitoring. Gorman Bruce greets Community First Solutions Meals on Wheels driver Don Peters and Emily Glaser during a delivery on March 18 to his Fairfield home.

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Since 2013, Wesley Community Service has been operating its Meals on Wheels program out of its Middletown facility at Christ United Methodist Church, 700 Marshall Road, Middletown.

It’s looking to hire six drivers, three for Meals on Wheels and three specialized transportation drivers, McLean said.

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“With the increasing senior population, Specialized Transportation in particular is a great need for seniors, both medical and non-medical, especially in Butler County,” she said. “We’re hoping to be able to hire Middletown area folks to serve Middletown area seniors.

We asked McLean a couple of questions about Wesley Community Services. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing your company and others in the industry and how is the company uniquely positioned to address that challenge?

A: “The average life expectancy is now 79 years. In order to keep people independent in their homes, our organization and others like ours need to make sure that we’re providing person-centered, specialized services that address the physical declines and financial hardships that can accompany the natural aging process.”

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Q: What’s the most prevalent roadblock you encounter when it comes to hiring and what can job seekers do to remedy that situation?

“Our organization prides itself on ensuring that seniors are served with dignity, care and respect. We’re looking for employees who have a sense of service, and want to make a difference every day. As the need for our services increases, we can’t find those job seekers fast enough.”

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