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The Claiborne County Office on Aging serves as a one-stop resource for those over 60 and the disabled to find help with most of their needs.
Director Tammy Austin can help with energy assistance, home repairs, SNAP benefits, food programs and medical insurance.
“The Office on Aging is under the Area Agency for the Aging and Disabled. Our county runs our programs,” she said. “I’m kind of like a resource for anyone who is disabled or age 60 and over. You can call me and tell me what you’re needing or what’s going on with you and if I can’t help you I’ll find someone who can.”
The goals for the Office on Aging include enhancing the lives of 60+ individuals in the service area, identifying and coordinating the services available and recruiting volunteers to assist in providing services.
The Office assists other ETHRA programs in enrolling potential clients for services such as LIHEAP (heating assistance), weatherization, and commodities. They also offer direct services such as eyeglasses and hearing aids.
“There is all kinds of assistance out there for low income people. We have energy assistance, home repairs, ramps, making your home handicapped accessible, weatherization and lots of food programs,” Austin said. “For people who get displaced and need a place to stay, unfortunately we generally have to send someplace else. We don’t have any shelters here, it’s something our county is seriously lacking.
“We do try to provide things that people need. We can hit up the churches and they are very generous in helping us get food, clothes and furniture, things like that when people need them.”
She also can help seniors understand their insurance options during open enrollment.
“We can help you find a better insurance plan if you’re not happy with the one you have,” Austin added.
The Office on Aging works with the County Senior Advisory Council and helps with the Senior Citizens Centers in Tazewell and Harrogate.
For more information about the Office on Aging or to see if Austin can help with a specific need, call 423-259-3395. Leave your name and number and she will return your call as soon as possible.
With winter weather right around the corner, the East Tennessee Human Resources Agency offers help with heating bills through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Assistance is available once a year, and emergency funds are set aside for families facing a shut-off of energy services. The grants are awarded on a points-based system to ensure that the most needy are assisted first, and the subsidies are paid directly to the energy provider. You can call 865-691-2551 EXT 4825 for the ETHRA Energy Assistance Hotline and have an application mailed to you.
The Claiborne County Office on Aging has an office on Jaycee Lane in the same building as the Senior Citizens Center. They are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.