UCHRA offers variety of services
The Upper Cumberland Human Resources Agency (UCHRA) offers a wide range of services here in Warren County, but many of the people who need them may not be aware they are available. That?s why local UCHRA director Gloria Cole wants to get information out about what the agency can do for you or your loved ones.
?One of the biggest things we have is our transportation,? Cole said. ?You?ve seen our vans around town. We carry anyone who needs a ride, it?s not just for the elderly. They can go to the store, they can go anywhere they want to. We do medical trips out of town. We go to Knoxville, Nashville, Chattanooga, we go all through the state of Tennessee from McMinnville. We have seven vans, four are wheelchair accessible.?
The only requirements are providing a minimum of two days notice of a trip, so the vans can be scheduled and arrangements made. There are fees for the transportation. For example, a round trip to Nashville would be $34. For medical trips, particularly for patients with TennCare, some of the fees are covered, and those benefits can even help reduce the fees for others in the same van who are not on TennCare. Contact the UCHRA office for the fee schedules for the various trips and destinations. Local trips are $2, with 25 cents for each extra stop.
?We have the nutrition program at the Senior Center,? Cole said. ?It?s on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. For age 60 and over we ask for a $1 donation. For others the meal is $4.50, and it starts usually at 11:30.?
UCHRA also provides for those who need help in their homes.
?We have the Homemaker Aid Service,? Cole said. ?That?s where we have Betty Burch and Pat Crutcher, our homemaker aids, go into the homes. They wash dishes, do laundry, pick up medicines and groceries. Some of those are referred to us through DHS, those who have no one and really need the service.?
There are several types of Homemaker Aid Services, so individuals should contact the UCHRA office and Cole will come out and do an interview to see if the individual is eligible for one of these.
The UCHRA can also help in other ways for distressed families or individuals.
?We have the Energy Assistance program,? Cole said. ?Where we help with utility bills and we can also help with rent.?
The eligibility requirements are complex for these services, so Cole suggest those who need them come by the UCHRA office to see if they qualify.
?The guidelines are different for each one of them,? Cole said.
The agency also works with the homeless, either to provide local shelter or to transport the individual to relatives they can stay with.
?This could be someone who has been evicted and they don?t have anywhere else to stay, so they?d be stranded if we didn?t help them,? Cole said, noting UCHRA has helped around 10 to 12 such individuals in the last year.
The local UCHRA office also handles food vouchers for the Warren County Food Bank.
?Father Jim Bretl handles the financial aspects of the Food Bank,? Cole said. ?We take the applications and provide the vouchers, then the person takes them to the food bank and the food is supplied to them. We do the paperwork.?
UCHRA also provides child care for individuals who are attending school or vocational classes. Once again, those interested in this service should come by the UCHRA office to see if they are eligible.
The entrance to the UCHRA office is located at the rear of the County Administration Building in suite 16. They can be contacted by phone at 473-6652, -6653, or -6654. The fax number is 473-6655. They are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.