Lena was shivering, naked and in distress when the Mystic Valley Elder Services’ Intake Worker arrived at Lena’s temporary “home” – a motel room in Malden. She cried, “I really need some clothes.”

You see Lena, age 63, who is living with mental and physical disabilities and struggles with incontinence, had soiled her clothing. And since she owns just one outfit and one pair of underwear, she had to wait unclothed while her husband, Charlie, brought her clothes to the nearby laundromat to wash again.

You can change Lena’s life for the better. Will you give today?

Your donation will make it possible for Mystic Valley Elder Services to provide Lena with a $150 clothing store gift card so she can purchase additional clothes. Your support will restore Lena’s sense of dignity and help preserve her ability to continue to live with independence in the community.

Please give as generously as you can. Your generosity – whether you give $150, $100 or whatever you can, will be life changing for the next “Lena” who calls Mystic Valley Elder Services suffering from a similar situation.

Sadly, Lena and Charlie’s story is all too common. Each year, hundreds of older adults and adults living with disabilities call Mystic Valley Elder Services seeking relief from challenging situations – situations for which they have nowhere else to turn for help. Many people are living on the edges of life with very little income and few, if any, social supports to help them cope with difficult circumstances. And while the COVID-19 Pandemic has caused challenging situations for many of us, there are many people who were already experiencing hard times and the Pandemic just made life all the more difficult.

Your donation will replenish the Mystic Valley Elder Services’ Elder Independence Fund to make certain that we can say “yes we can help you” to older adults who contact us in desperation. Your generosity will provide the flexible and immediate financial resources necessary to respond to the needs of very low-income older adults residing in Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winthrop.

Through your generosity, you will help fill a heating oil tank this winter; you will help purchase a new mattress; you will help install a ramp; or you will help purchase a new pair of shoes. You will help in numerous little and not so little ways so that your older neighbors will remain living with dignity and independence in your community.

Remember, we are here for you, too! You, your family, friends and neighbors need to know we are your community resource that you can tap for any questions or concerns regarding aging and aging related services located right in your community. You are investing in your future and future generations by “paying it forward” in supporting your older neighbors in need and sustaining Mystic Valley Elder Services and the Elder Independence Fund.

You can make your tax-deductible donation today. Donate in memory or in honor of someone important in your life and we will send an acknowledgement letter to the person of your choice.

While these are challenging times, we at Mystic Valley Elder Services remain committed, as we always have, to our mission to support the right of elders and adults living with disabilities to live independently with dignity in a setting of their choice. In doing so, the health and wellbeing of our consumers remains our top priority. Please know that your kindness and support give us a sense of hope that life will get better again for us all, and there are caring people like you in this world who want to make a positive difference.

With great appreciation,

Daniel J. O’Leary
Chief Executive Officer