Press release from the Southwest Tennessee Development District; December 13, 2012:
The Christmas season is in full swing and SWTDD’s Area Agency on Aging & Disability is seeking help to provide an extra blessing to each of its 15 clients who are in the Public Guardianship Program. District Public Conservator, Susan Unger, is their legal or court appointed advocate. She acts as a “granddaughter” to each client — she takes them to the doctor, pays bills, purchases groceries, and helps out in other ways as needed. In short, Unger, through the statewide Public Guardianship Program, provides legal guardianship for persons 60 years of age and older who are unable to manage their own affairs and who have no family member, friend, bank or corporation both willing and able to act on his or her behalf.
It is at this time of year that SWTDD reaches out to individuals, businesses and churches in the area for help in making this Christmas memorable for its clients. Because these very special people have no one to buy Christmas gifts for them, the Public Guardianship Program would like to facilitate having at least one gift for each client. The majority of these disabled elderly clients receive no income other than their Social Security or Supplemental Security payments; most live in area nursing homes, but three of them are able to live in their own home or apartment.
“I am happy to do the shopping, wrapping and delivery for anyone who would like to make a monetary donation toward purchasing gifts for our clients,” says Susan Unger, Public Conservator. “Or, if a person or group would like to sponsor an individual, I am willing to provide information about an appropriate gift for that special client. Church or civic groups may choose to sponsor a client from their particular county or town.”
Please contact Susan Unger by phone at 731-668-6405 or by e-mail at sunger@swtdd.org if you are interested in helping make Christmas a happier time for these individuals or if you are interested in hearing more about the Public Guardianship for the Elderly Program. Unger is available to speak to civic or church groups about the guardianship services available to Tennessee’s disabled elderly citizens through this program. For more information about SWTDD, visit www.swtdd.org.
